Bill > HR2647

Introduced Session

Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015 TITLE I--EXPEDITED ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND AVAILABILITY OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS TO EXPEDITE FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES (Sec. 101) This bill shall apply whenever the Department concerned, either the Department of Agriculture (USDA) with respect to National Forest System land or the Department of the Interior with respect to public lands, prepares an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for a forest management activity that: is developed through a collaborative process; is proposed by a resource advisory committee; or is covered by a community wildfire protection plan. In such an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, the Department concerned shall study, develop, and describe only these two alternatives: the forest management activity proposed, and the alternative of no action. In the case of the alternative of no action, the Department concerned shall evaluate: the effect of no action on forest health, habitat diversity, wildfire potential, and insect and disease potential; and the implications of a resulting decline in forest health, loss of habitat diversity, wildfire, or insect or disease infestation on domestic water costs, wildlife habitat loss, and other economic and social factors. (Sec. 102) A categorical exclusion is made available to the Department concerned to carry out a forest management activity on System or public lands when the primary purpose of the activity is to: address an insect or disease infestation; reduce hazardous fuel loads; protect a municipal water source; maintain, enhance, or modify critical habitat to protect it from catastrophic disturbances; increase water yield; or any combination of such purposes. (A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.) A forest management activity covered by this categorical exclusion may not contain harvest units exceeding a total of 5,000 acres. Such a forest management activity, furthermore, may contain harvest units totaling up to 15,000 acres if it is developed through a collaborative process, proposed by a resource advisory committee, or covered by a community wildfire protection plan. (Sec. 103) A categorical exclusion is also made available to the Department concerned to carry out a salvage operation as part of the restoration of System or public lands following a catastrophic event. This kind of salvage operation may not contain harvest units exceeding a total of 5,000 acres either, nor may they exceed one-third of the area impacted by the catastrophic event. This kind of salvage operation may not include any new permanent roads, and any temporary roads constructed as part of the salvage operation must be retired within five fiscal years after completion of the operation. A covered salvage operation must comply with the standards and guidelines for stream buffers in the applicable forest plan unless waived. A reforestation plan must be developed under the Knutson-Vandenberg Act as part of the salvage operation. (Sec. 104) A categorical exclusion is made available to the Department concerned to carry out a forest management activity on up to 5,000 acres of System or public lands when its primary purpose is to modify, improve, enhance, or create early successional forests for wildlife habitat improvement and other purposes, consistent with the applicable forest plan. (Sec. 105) The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 is amended to add to the areas to which a collaborative restoration project outside the wildland-urban interface is limited Condition Classes 2 or 3 (Insect & Disease Categorical Exclusions) in Fire Regime IV (lodgepole pine). (Sec. 106) A categorical exclusion is made available to the Department concerned to carry out specified forest management activities on up to 5,000 acres of System or public lands whose primary purpose is to improve, restore, or reduce the risk of wildfire on those lands. (Sec. 107) A forest management activity covered by a categorical exclusion granted by this title shall be conducted consistent with the forest plan applicable to the System or public lands covered by that activity. TITLE II--SALVAGE AND REFORESTATION IN RESPONSE TO CATASTROPHIC EVENTS (Sec. 201) Any environmental assessment for a proposed salvage operation or reforestation activity on System or public lands impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event must be completed within three months after the event. Reforestation of at least 75% of the impacted lands must be achieved within five years after that event. The special fund under the Knutson-Vandenberg Act shall be available to USDA for reforestation activities. In the case of a salvage operation or reforestation activity proposed for System or public lands adversely impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event, the Department concerned shall allow a specified length of time for public scoping and comment, objections, and agency response. The Department concerned shall implement the project immediately upon completion of this process and expiration of the three-month period. (Sec. 202) A salvage operation or reforestation activity authorized by this title shall be conducted consistent with the forest plan applicable to the System lands or public lands covered by that operation or activity. (Sec. 203) No restraining order, preliminary injunction, or injunction pending appeal shall be issued by any U.S. court with respect to any decision to prepare or conduct a salvage operation or reforestation activity in response to a large-scale catastrophic event. (Sec. 204) In applying this title, the Department concerned may not carry out salvage operations or reforestation activities on System or public lands: included in the National Wilderness Preservation System, located within an inventoried roadless area unless the activity is consistent with the forest plan, or on which timber harvesting for any purpose is prohibited by statute. TITLE III--COLLABORATIVE PROJECT LITIGATION REQUIREMENT (Sec. 302) Any plaintiffs challenging a forest management activity developed through a collaborative process or proposed by a resource advisory committee shall be required to post a bond or other security equal to the anticipated costs, expenses, and attorneys fees of the Department concerned as defendant. If the Department concerned prevails in such an action, the losing plaintiff shall pay the Department's reasonable costs, expenses, and attorneys fees up to but not in excess of the amount of the bond or other security posted. Any bond or security funds remaining after payment to the Department shall be returned to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, and the entire amount of the bond or security shall be returned to a prevailing plaintiff. Any settlement agreement between plaintiff and the Department shall provide for sharing of the costs, expenses, and attorneys fees incurred by the parties. No amounts may be obligated or expended from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the Treasury to pay any fees or other expenses to any such plaintiff. TITLE IV--SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELF-DETERMINATION ACT AMENDMENTS (Sec. 401) Repealed is the Merchantable Timber Contracting Pilot Program under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. The Department concerned shall ensure that at least 50% of the project funds reserved by a participating county for carrying out a special project on federal land or certain nonfederal land under the same Act shall be made available only for projects that: include the sale of timber or other forest products, reduce fire risks, or improve water supplies; and implement stewardship objectives that enhance forest ecosystems or restore and improve land health and water quality. (Sec. 402) The membership of a new resource advisory committee may lower from 15 to a minimum of 9 during a specified period ending September 30, 2020. The members of a new resource advisory committee shall reside within the county or counties in which the committee has jurisdiction or an adjacent county. (Sec. 403) The Forest Service shall conduct a self-sustaining resource advisory committee (RAC) program under which 10 RACs will propose projects intended to: accomplish forest management objectives or support community development, and generate receipts. Each RAC must have a minimum of six members. The authority to initiate a project under the RAC program shall terminate on September 30, 2020. (Sec. 404) A participating county shall be allowed to use certain funds to: (1) reimburse the county for law enforcement patrols performed on federal land, and (2) cover training costs and equipment purchases directly related to emergency services. (Sec. 405) None of the funds made available to a beneficiary county or other political subdivision of a state under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 shall be used in lieu of or otherwise to offset state funding sources for local schools, facilities, or educational purposes. TITLE V--STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING (Sec. 501) The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 is amended to authorize the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to obligate funds to cover potential cancellation or termination costs for an agreement or contract for stewardship end result contracting projects. The Forest Service and the BLM shall notify Congress at least 30 days before entering into a multipurpose agreement or contract for a stewardship contracting project that includes a cancellation ceiling exceeding $25 million but does not include proposed funding for cancellation costs up to such cancellation ceiling. (Sec. 502) If the offset value of the forest products to be removed under a contract for a stewardship contracting project exceeds the value of the resource improvement treatments, the Forest Service and the BLM may: (1) use the excess to satisfy any outstanding liabilities for cancelled agreements or contracts; or (2) if there are no outstanding liabilities, apply the excess to other authorized stewardship projects, as under current law. (Sec. 503) The value of in-kind resources (and services, as under current law) received by the Forest Service or the BLM under a stewardship contract project shall not be considered monies received from the National Forest System or the public lands (as under current law), but any payments made by the contractor to the Forest Service or the BLM under the project shall be considered monies received from the System or the public lands. (Sec. 505) Upon the request of a contractor, a contract or agreement for a stewardship contracting project awarded before February 7, 2014, shall be modified by the Forest Service or the BLM to include certain fire liability provisions. TITLE VI--ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES (Sec. 602) Monies from an agreement or contract for a stewardship contracting project shall be available for expenditure without further appropriation to cover up to 25% of the cost of planning additional stewardship end result contracting projects. The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund shall be used to pay up to 50% of the costs of planning, as well as carrying out and monitoring, ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land for each proposal selected under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. (Sec. 603) The State-Supported Forest Management Fund is established in the Treasury to cover the costs of the Department concerned to plan, carry out, and monitor a forest management activity on System or public land that is developed through a collaborative process, proposed by a resource advisory committee, or covered by a community wildfire protection plan. The Fund shall consist of such amounts as may be: (1) contributed by an eligible entity for deposit into the Fund, (2) appropriated to the Fund, or (3) generated by forest management activities carried out using amounts in the Fund. An "eligible entity" is: a state or political subdivision containing National Forest System lands or public lands, a publicly chartered utility serving at least one state or political subdivision, a rural electric company, and any other entity appropriate for participation in the Fund. In making a contribution, an eligible entity may: specify the System or public lands for which the contribution may be expended; and limit the types of forest management activities for which the contribution may be expended. The Knutson-Vandenberg Act shall apply to any forest management activity carried out using amounts from the Fund. The Fund shall terminate 10 years after the enactment of this Act. TITLE VII--TRIBAL FORESTRY PARTICIPATION AND PROTECTION (Sec. 701) Interior shall take specified administrative action under the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 within 120 days of receiving a request from an Indian Tribe to enter into an agreement or contract to carry out a project to protect Indian forest land or rangeland (including bordering or adjacent federal land). Interior shall (under current law, may) issue a notice of denial to the Tribe if the request is denied. (Sec. 702) The Department concerned, at the request of an Indian Tribe, may treat federal forest land as Indian forest land for purposes of planning and conducting forest land management activities under the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act if the federal forest land is located within, or mostly within, a geographic area presenting a feature or involving circumstances principally relevant to that Indian tribe. The Department concerned and the Tribe, as part of an agreement to treat federal land as Indian forest land, shall: provide for continued public access (with possible exceptions), continue sharing revenue generated by the federal forest land with state and local governments, comply with applicable prohibitions on the export of unprocessed logs harvested from the federal forest land, recognize all right-of way agreements in place on federal forest land before tribal management activities commence; and ensure that all commercial timber removed from the federal forest land is sold on a competitive bid basis. (Sec. 703) Interior and USDA may carry out demonstration projects by which federally recognized Indian tribes or tribal organizations may contract to perform administrative, management, and other functions of programs of the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 through contracts entered into under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. TITLE VIII--MISCELLANEOUS FOREST MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS (Sec. 801) Courts reviewing an agency action shall balance short- and long-term effects of forest management activities in considering injunctive relief. (Sec. 802) The Forest Supervisor of a National Forest System unit must perform certain tasks when considering whether to decommission a defined maintenance level one or two system road within a designated high fire-prone area. No Forest Service road may be decommissioned without advance approval of the Regional Forester. (Sec. 803) USDA may not apply to National Forest System lands any of the amendments to forest plans adopted in the Eastside Screens requirements. (Sec. 804) If the Department concerned determines that, in order to conduct a project or to carry out an activity implementing a forest plan, an amendment to that plan is required, the Department shall execute that amendment as a nonsignificant plan amendment through the record of decision or decision notice for the project or activity. (Sec. 805) USDA shall (currently, may) require, under the Knutson-Vandenberg Act, each purchaser of national-forest timber to make certain deposits of money in addition to the payments for the timber to cover the cost to the federal government of certain forest land management activities. Amounts in the special fund: (1) shall be used exclusively to implement such forest land management activities, but (2) may be used anywhere within the Forest Service Region from which the original deposits were collected. (Sec. 806) Unless specifically provided by a provision of titles I through VIII of this Act, the authorities by such titles do not apply with respect to any System or public lands: included in the National Wilderness Preservation System, located within an inventoried roadless area unless the forest management activity is consistent with the forest plan, or on which timber harvesting for any purpose is prohibited by statute. (Sec. 807) The Northwest Forest Plan Survey and Manage Mitigation Measure Standard and Guidelines shall not apply to any System or public lands. (Sec. 808) All of the public land managed by the BLM in the Salem District, Eugene District, Roseburg District, Coos Bay District, Medford District, and the Klamath Resource Area of the Lakeview District in Oregon shall be managed pursuant to federal law relating to management of the revested Oregon and California Railroad and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands under Interior jurisdiction and classified as timberlands and power-site lands valuable for timber. All of the revenue produced from such lands shall be deposited into the Oregon and California land-grant fund, except any revenue required to be deposited into the Coos Bay Wagon Road grant fund. (Sec. 809) Interior shall develop and consider, a reference analysis and two additional alternatives as part of the revisions of the resource management plans for the BLM's Salem, Eugene, Coos Bay, Roseburg, and Medford Districts and the Klamath Resource Area of the Lakeview District. This reference analysis shall measure and assume the harvest of the annual growth net of natural mortality for all forested land in the planning area in order to determine the maximum sustained yield capacity of the forested land base and to establish a baseline by which Interior shall measure incremental effects on the sustained yield capacity and environmental impacts from management prescriptions in all other alternatives. Interior shall develop and consider: one additional alternative with the goal of maximizing the total carbon benefits from forest storage and wood product storage; and a second additional alternative that produces the greater of 500 million board feet or the annual net growth on the acres classified as timberland, excluding any congressionally reserved areas. Interior shall publish the reference analysis and additional alternatives and analyze their environmental and economic consequences in a supplemental draft environmental impact statement. (Sec. 810) USDA shall develop through a collaborative process and implement at least one landscape-scale forest restoration project that includes the generation of material that will be used to promote advanced wood products. TITLE IX--MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND (Sec. 901) The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is amended to define "major disaster for wildfire on federal lands" to mean any wildfire or wildfires that warrant assistance to supplement the efforts and resources of Interior or USDA on federal lands or on nonfederal lands pursuant to a fire protection agreement or cooperative agreement. (Sec. 902) A process is established for declaration of a major disaster for wildfire on federal lands managed by the BLM, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Forest Service. Either Interior (respecting federal land under its jurisdiction) or USDA (respecting Forest Service land) may request the President to start such a process, and the President in turn may transfer funds to them to conduct wildfire suppression operations on the lands affected. The President shall establish a wildfire suppression operations account for wildfires on federal lands, whose funds shall be transferred to the wildfire suppression subactivity of the Wildland Fire Management Account. If transferred amounts are used to conduct wildfire suppression operations on non-federal land, the respective Department shall secure reimbursement for the cost of such operations. The respective Department shall report to Congress annually on: the risk-based factors that influenced management decisions regarding wildfire suppression operations of the federal land management agencies under its jurisdiction; a statistically significant sample of large fires; total expenditures for wildfire suppression operations of the federal land management agencies under its jurisdiction, and lessons learned. (Sec. 903) No funds may be transferred to or from the federal land management agencies' wildfire suppression operations accounts to or from any account or subactivity of the federal land management agencies that is not used to cover the cost of wildfire suppression operations.

Committee Categories

Bruce Westerman (R)*,  Ralph Abraham (R),  Dan Benishek (R),  Paul Gosar (R),  Ann Kirkpatrick (D),  Doug LaMalfa (R),  Tom McClintock (R),  Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R),  Gary Palmer (R),  Reid Ribble (R),  Mike Simpson (R),  G.T. Thompson (R),  Scott Tipton (R),  Ryan Zinke (R), 

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 634. (on 09/19/2016)

Official Document