National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act of 2010

Bill: 111-s-2798
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Mark [D-CO]
Introduced: 2009-11-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Alaska
Alternative and renewable resources
Arizona
California
Colorado
Ecology
Fires
Forests, forestry, trees
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Public contracts and procurement
Small business
South Dakota
Utah
Washington State
Watersheds
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
Wyoming

Summary:
action_date: 2009-11-18
text: 
National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act of 2009 - Designates certain areas in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming as insect and disease emergency areas. Allows the designation of additional insect and disease emergency areas in accordance with this Act. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary), in implementing the emergency forest restoration program, to make payments to owners of nonindustrial private forest land to carry out emergency measures in response to an insect and disease infestation emergency under this Act. 
 
Authorizes the: (1) Secretary to enter into contracts or agreements with a state to allow the performance of watershed restoration and protection services on National Forest System land when similar and complementary restoration and protection services are being carried out by the state on adjacent state or private land; and (2) Secretary of the Interior to carry out such activities on public land administered by the Secretary of the Interior. 
 
Bars the Secretary from obligating funds to cover the costs of canceling Forest Service multiyear stewardship contracts until the date on which they are canceled. Extends permanently the authority under which the Forest Service may enter into such contracts with private persons and entities to perform services to achieve land management goals for the national forests and the public lands that meet local and rural community needs. 

action_date: 2010-09-27
text: 
National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act of 2010 - (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to identify high-risk areas within the National Forest System in the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming (the affected states). Defines &quot;high-risk area&quot; to mean a road, trail, or other area that poses a high risk to public health or safety due to hazard trees resulting from landscape-scale tree mortality caused by an insect or disease epidemic.
 
 
Requires the Secretary to develop educational materials describing the risk posed by hazard trees in high-risk areas and the measures that can be taken by the public in avoiding or reducing such risk. 
 
 Directs the Secretary to identify insect or disease epidemic areas within the National Forest System in the affected states and to include with such information an estimate of the annual mortality caused by the epidemic and a projection of future tree mortality resulting from such epidemic. 
 
Requires the information identified pursuant to this section to be made available to affected communities, fire departments, and the public.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts or provide financial assistance through cooperative agreements to help in the collection, development, monitoring, and distribution of such information and materials. 
 
(Sec. 5) Authorizes the Secretary to assist state and local governments, Indian tribes, private landowners, and other persons from an insect or disease epidemic area within the National Forest System in an affected state with the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material to a biomass conversion facility in accordance with the Business Crop Assistance Program. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary to make payments to owners of nonindustrial private forest land in affected states to carry out emergency measures to restore their land after an insect or disease infestation. 
 
Directs the Secretary to carry out authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects in affected states on National Forest System land. 
 
(Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior to enter into good neighbor agreements with governors to coordinate the procurement and implementation of authorized restoration services. Defines a &quot;good neighbor agreement&quot; as a nonfunding master cooperative agreement between the Secretary and a governor or a memorandum of agreement or understanding between the Secretary and a governor.
 
Requires contracts and subcontracts for authorized restoration services under this section to be in compliance with small business assistance and protection provisions.
 
Terminates the authority of the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements and contracts under this section on September 30, 2019, and prohibits the termination date of such an agreement from extending beyond September 30, 2020.
 
Repeals separate authorities for cooperative services on National Forest System lands in Colorado and Utah. 
 
(Sec. 7) Authorizes appropriations. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-09-27
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 599.
action_date: 2010-09-27
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-313.
action_date: 2010-09-27
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-313.
action_date: 2010-08-05
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2010-04-21
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 111-566.
action_date: 2009-11-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S11497-11499)
action_date: 2009-11-18
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S11496-11497, S11498-11499)
action_date: 2009-11-18
text: Introduced in Senate