,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gcae ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #ac1 #bjah ,mr4 ,westerman 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,cheney1 ,mr4 ,gianforte1 ,mr4 ,gosar1 and ,mr4 ,la,malfa7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to protect ,american communities from wildfire1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protecting ,american ,communities from ,wildfire ,act4 #b4 ,findings and purpose 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 catastrophic wildfire represents a major threat to ,american lives1 properties1 and livelihoods2 7#b7 more and more ,americans are living within the wildland-urban interface1 and thus living closer to unmanaged1 overgrown ,federal forests2 and 7#c7 a lack of large-scale forest management practices has increased the risk of catastrophic wildfire within the wildland-urban interface4 7b7 ,purpose ,the purposes of this ,act are as follows3 7#a7 ,to provide the ,forest ,service with the clear authority to protect lives1 homes1 and businesses within the wildland-urban interface by authorizing forest management projects in the wildland-urban interface4 7#b7 ,to provide ,state1 local1 and ,tribal entities the authority to collaboratively manage the forests within the wildland-urban interface4 7#c7 ,to provide additional resources for existing disaster mitigation and educational programs for communities located in the wildland-urban interface4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,at-risk community ,the term at-risk community has the meaning given the term in section #aja of the ,healthy ,forests ,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feaa74 7#b7 ,at-risk watershed ,the term at-risk watershed means any watershed supplying an at-risk community4 7#c7 ,federal land 7,a7 ,in general ,the term ,federal land means-- 7i7 public lands 7as defined in section #ajc of the ,federal ,land ,policy and ,management ,act of #aigf 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #agjb772 7ii7 land held in trust for ,indian ,tribes2 or 7iii7 ,national ,forest ,system land4 7,b7 ,exclusions ,the term ,federal land does not include-- 7i7 a component of the ,national ,wilderness ,preservation ,system2 7ii7 ,federal land on which the removal of vegetation is prohibited or restricted by ,act of ,congress or ,presidential proclamation 7including the applicable implementation plan72 or 7iii7 a wilderness study area4 7#d7 ,governors concerned ,the term ,governors concerned means the respective ,governors who have entered into good neighbor agreements 7as defined in section #hbjf of the ,agricultural ,act of #bjad 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #baac;a774 7#e7 ,secretary concerned ,the term ,secretary concerned means-- 7,a7 the ,secretary of the ,interior1 with respect to public lands2 and 7,b7 the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 with respect to ,national ,forest ,system lands4 7#f7 ,treatment programs ,the term treatment programs means any removal or modification of flammable vegetation including1 but not limited to1 prescribed fire1 mechanical thinning1 timber sales1 mastication1 pruning1 slash treatment1 or a combination of those methods4 7#g7 ,wildland-,urban ,interface ,the term wildland-urban interface has the meaning given the term in section #aja of the ,healthy ,forests ,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feaa74 #d4 ,categorical exclusion for accelerated treatment programs for the wildland-urban interface 7a7 ,categorical exclusion established ,treatment programs described in subsection 7b7 are a category of actions designated as categorically excluded from the preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement under section #ajb of the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccb74 7b7 ,treatment program described ,the treatment programs described in this subsection are forest management activities carried out by the ,secretary concerned to-- 7#a7 reduce the risk of wildfire to at-risk communities and at-risk watersheds by prescribing treatment programs in the wildland-urban interface which remove overstocked timber2 and 7#b7 subject to subsection 7c71 remove or modify woody vegetation and ground material to reduce canopy closure1 ground fuels1 and ladder fuels to achieve a forest composition that maximizes low-intensity fires and ease of suppression1 establish fire breaks1 and access for fire suppression4 7c7 ,limitation of treatment programs ,the ,secretary concerned may only carry out vegetation treatments necessary to achieve conditions that support low-intensity fire and allow for direct suppression4 7d7 ,judicial review ,treatment programs described in subsection 7b7 shall not be subject to judicial review4 #e4 ,good neighbor agreements for at-risk areas ,section #hbjf7;a77#c77;,b7 of the ,agricultural ,act of #bjad 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #baac;a7a77#c77;,b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in clause 7i77,,ii77bb71 by striking or2 7#b7 in clause 7ii71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 or2 and 7#c7 by inserting after clause 7ii7 the following new clause3 7iii7 activities to reduce hazardous fuels and risk for loss of human life and property within the wildland-urban interface 7as defined in section #aja of the ,healthy ,forests ,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feaa774 4 #f4 ,supplemental ,state ,fire ,assistance ,funding ,section #aj;,a of the ,cooperative ,forestry ,assistance ,act of #aigh 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #bajf;c7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a71 by striking may and inserting shall2 7#b7 in subsection 7b7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a7-- 7i7 in subparagraph 7,c71 by striking and at the end2 7ii7 in subparagraph 7,d71 by striking wildfires4 and inserting wildfires2 and2 and 7iii7 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,e7 to incentivize ,state1 local1 tribal1 and private landowners within the wildland-urban interface to implement cooperative land management plans and treatment programs which reduce the risk of wildfire4 2 and 7,b7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7i7 by striking ,the ,program and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,in general ,the program 2 and 7ii7 by striking ,state foresters or equivalent ,state officials and inserting appropriate stakeholders2 and 7iii7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,preferred consideration ,state1 local1 tribal1 and private landowners with preexisting1 collaborative wildland-urban interface fire mitigation plan shall receive preferred consideration when applying for competitive1 cost-sharing grants4 2 7,c7 in paragraph 7#c7-- 7i7 in subparagraph 7,g71 by striking and at the end2 7ii7 in subparagraph 7,h71 by striking projects4 and inserting projects2 and2 and 7iii7 by adding at the end the following3 7,j7 community and landowner forest management incentive programs4 2 and 7#c7 by amending subsection 7d7 to read as follows3 7d7 ,authorization of appropriations 7#a7 ,in general ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section-- 7,a7 #ajj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjai through #bjbd2 and 7,b7 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year #bjbe and each fiscal year thereafter4 7#b7 ,reservation ,of the funds appropriated under paragraph 7#a71 #be percent shall be reserved to carry out wildfire mitigation and fuels reduction within the wildland-urban interface 7as defined in section #aja of the ,healthy ,forests ,restoration ,act of #bjjc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feaa774 4 #g4 ,savings provision ,nothing in this ,act shall provide the ,secretary concerned or ,governors concerned the authority to prescribe clear cutting as part of a treatment plan4