Opinion ID: 4541138
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Healthy Forests Restoration Act

Text: HFRA was originally enacted in 2003 “to reduce wildfire risk to communities, municipal water supplies, and other at-risk Federal land through a collaborative process of planning, prioritizing, and implementing hazardous fuel reduction projects.” 16 U.S.C. § 6501(1). In 2014, Congress amended HFRA, establishing the statutory categorical exclusion at issue here—the Insect and Disease exclusion. See 16 U.S.C. § 6591b. This categorical exclusion authorizes “priority projects” to protect forests from insect infestations and disease. See 16 U.S.C. § 6591a–b. It contemplates a two-step process for approving such projects. The Forest Service must first designate certain “landscape-scale areas” part of an insect and disease treatment program. 16 U.S.C. § 6591a. Then, the Forest Service may carry out projects within those areas provided they meet the statutory criteria. Id. § 6591b. To qualify, a project must (1) meet certain limitations related to the building of new roads, location, and size, excluding projects of more than 3,000 acres; (2) “maximize[] the retention of old-growth and large trees, as appropriate for the forest type, to the extent that the trees promote stands that are resilient to insects and disease;” (3) “consider[] the best available scientific information to maintain or restore the ecological integrity;” (4) be “developed and implemented through a collaborative process;” (5) “be consistent with the land and resource -6- management plan” for the area; and (6) involve “public notice and scoping.” 16 U.S.C. § 6591b. Where such requirements are met, HFRA provides that the project “may be . . . considered an action categorically excluded from the requirements of [NEPA].” Id. § 6591b(a)(1).