Fire Recovery Improvement Act

Bill: 117-hr-8084
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. O'Halleran, Tom [D-AZ-1]
Introduced: 2022-06-15
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Latest action: action_date: 2022-06-30
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-06-15
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Fire Recovery Improvement Act</strong></p> <p>This bill authorizes the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture to address post-wildfire flooding in certain communities adjacent to or downstream from Forest System land.</p> <p> Specifically, the service may carry out watershed protection and flood prevention measures to address the effects of flooding in communities that are (1) located on land not under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service, and (2) threatened by post-wildfire flooding due to a post-wildfire burn scar on adjacent or upstream Forest Service lands. Upon receiving an independent hydraulic study that shows that severe and repetitive flooding is likely in such communities, the service may also carry out activities to mitigate potential effects of that flooding.</p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8084 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 15, 2022 Mr. O'Halleran introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to allow additional flood prevention measures on certain lands, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Fire Recovery Improvement Act . 2. Additional flood prevention measures The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: 16. Additional flood prevention measures (a) Forest Service lands In carrying out this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, may— (1) carry out activities on eligible lands to address the effects of flooding in downstream communities; and (2) carry out activities to mitigate potential effects of flooding in downstream communities upon the receipt of an independent hydraulic study that shows that severe and repetitive flooding is likely in such communities. (b) Definitions In this section: (1) Downstream community The term downstream community means a community that— (A) is located on land not under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service; and (B) is threatened by post-wildfire flooding in such community due to a post-wildfire burn scar on adjacent or upstream Forest Service lands. (2) Eligible land The term eligible land means land that is— (A) located in a county in which less than 50 percent of the land is privately owned; and (B) under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service. .