S. 3395 — Introduced in Senate

II 114th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3395 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 27, 2016Mr. Thune (for himself and Ms. Heitkamp) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To require limitations on prescribed burns. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016. 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) National fire danger rating system The term national fire danger rating system means the national system used to provide a measure of fire danger according to a range of low to moderate to high to very high to extreme. (2) Prescribed burn The term prescribed burn means a planned fire intentionally ignited. (3) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service. 3. Limitations on prescribed burns (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary shall not authorize a prescribed burn on Forest Service land if, for the county or contiguous county in which the land is located, the national fire danger rating system indicates an extreme fire danger level. (b) Exception The Secretary may authorize a prescribed burn under a condition described in subsection (a) if the Secretary coordinates with the applicable State government and local fire officials. (c) Report At the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing— (1) the number and locations of prescribed burns during that fiscal year; and (2) each prescribed burn during that fiscal year that was authorized by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b).