,i #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #degd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bj1 #bjba,mr4 ,obernolte 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,westerman1 ,mr4 ,newhouse1 ,mr4 ,la,malfa1 ,mr4 ,bentz1 ,mr4 ,rosendale1 ,mr4 ,tiffany1 and ,mrs4 ,boebert7 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 expedite certain activities related to salvage operations and reforestation activities on ,national ,forest ,system lands or public lands in response to catastrophic events1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,salvaging ,american ,lumber ,via ,action with ,greater ,efficiency ,act or the ,,salvage ,act4 #b4 ,categorical exclusion to expedite salvage operations in response to catastrophic events 7a7 ,categorical exclusion established ,salvage operations carried out by the ,secretary concerned on ,national ,forest ,system lands or public lands are a category of actions hereby designated as being 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 ,availability of categorical exclusion ,on and after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary concerned may use the categorical exclusion established under subsection 7a7 in accordance with this section4 7c7 ,acreage limitation ,a salvage operation covered by the categorical exclusion established under subsection 7a7 may not contain treatment units exceeding a total of #aj1jjj acres4 7d7 ,additional requirements 7#a7 ,stream buffers ,a salvage operation covered by the categorical exclusion established under subsection 7a7 shall comply with the standards and guidelines for stream buffers contained in the applicable forest plan unless waived by the ,regional ,forester1 in the case of ,national ,forest ,system lands1 or the ,state ,director of the ,bureau of ,land ,management1 in the case of public lands4 7#b7 ,reforestation plan ,a reforestation plan shall be developed under section #c of the ,act of ,june #i1 #aicj 7commonly known as the ,knutson-,vandenberg ,act2 #af ,u4,s4,c4 #egf;b71 as part of a salvage operation covered by the categorical exclusion established under subsection 7a74 #c4 ,expedited salvage operations and reforestation activities following large-scale catastrophic events 7a7 ,expedited environmental assessment ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 an environmental assessment prepared by the ,secretary concerned pursuant to section #ajb of the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccb7 for a salvage operation or reforestation activity proposed to be conducted on ,national ,forest ,system lands or public lands adversely impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event shall be completed within #fj days after the conclusion of the catastrophic event4 7b7 ,expedited implementation and completion ,in the case of reforestation activities conducted on ,national ,forest ,system lands or public lands adversely impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event1 the ,secretary concerned shall1 to the maximum extent practicable1 achieve reforestation of at least #ge percent of the impacted lands during the #e-year period following the conclusion of the catastrophic event4 7c7 ,availability of ,knutson-,vandenberg ,funds ,amounts in the special fund established pursuant to section #c of the ,act of ,june #i1 #aicj 7commonly known as the ,knutson-,vandenberg ,act2 #af ,u4,s4,c4 #egf;b71 shall be available to the ,secretary of ,agriculture for reforestation activities authorized by this section4 7d7 ,timeline for public input process 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 in the case of a salvage operation or reforestation activity proposed to be conducted on ,national ,forest ,system lands or public lands adversely impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event1 the ,secretary concerned shall allow-- 7,a7 #cj days for public scoping and comment2 7,b7 #ae days for filing an objection2 and 7,c7 #ae days for the agency response to the filing of an objection4 7#b7 ,implementation ,on the final day of the process required in paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary concerned shall implement the project for which the process was initiated4 7e7 ,conversion of timber sales 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #fj days after a wildfire is contained on ,national ,forest ,system lands1 the ,secretary of ,agriculture shall convert any timber sales on lands impacted by such wildfire to salvage sales4 7#b7 ,analysis deemed sufficient ,if the ,regional ,forester determines that a proposed timber sale has been sufficiently analyzed under the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act1 such analysis shall be deemed to fulfill the requirements of section #ajb7b77;,c7 of the ,national ,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dccb7b77;,c77 with respect to such salvage sale4 #d4 ,compliance with forest plan ,a salvage operation or reforestation activity authorized by this ,act shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the forest plan applicable to the ,national ,forest ,system lands or public lands covered by the salvage operation or reforestation activity4 #e4 ,prohibition on restraining orders1 preliminary injunctions1 and injunctions pending appeal ,no restraining order1 preliminary injunction1 or injunction pending appeal shall be issued by any court of the ,united ,states with respect to any decision to prepare or conduct a salvage operation or reforestation activity in response to a large-scale catastrophic event4 #f4 ,exclusions ,the authorities provided by this ,act do not apply with respect to any ,national ,forest ,system lands or public lands-- 7#a7 that are included in the ,national ,wilderness ,preservation ,system2 7#b7 that are located within a national or ,state specific inventoried roadless area established by the ,secretary of ,agriculture through regulation1 unless-- 7,a7 the forest management activity to be carried out under such authority is consistent with the forest plan applicable to the area2 or 7,b7 the ,secretary concerned determines the activity is allowed under the applicable roadless rule governing such lands2 or 7#c7 on which timber harvesting for any purpose is prohibited by ,federal statute4 #g4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,forest management activity ,the term forest management activity means a project or activity carried out by the ,secretary concerned on ,national ,forest ,system lands or public lands consistent with the forest plan covering such lands4 7#b7 ,forest plan ,the term forest plan means-- 7,a7 a land use plan prepared by the ,bureau of ,land ,management for public lands pursuant to section #bjb of the ,federal ,land ,policy and ,management ,act of #aigf 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #agab72 or 7,b7 a land and resource management plan prepared by the ,forest ,service for a unit of the ,national ,forest ,system pursuant to section #f of the ,forest and ,rangeland ,renewable ,resources ,planning ,act of #aigd 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #afjd74 7#c7 ,national forest system ,the term ,national ,forest ,system has the meaning given that term in section #aa7;a7 of the ,forest and ,rangeland ,renewable ,resources ,planning ,act of #aigd 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #afji7;a774 7#d7 ,public lands ,the term public lands has the meaning given that term in section #ajc of the ,federal ,land ,policy and ,management ,act of #aigf 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #agjb71 except that the term includes ,coos ,bay ,wagon ,road ,grant lands and ,oregon and ,california ,railroad ,grant lands4 7#e7 ,secretary concerned ,the term ,secretary concerned means-- 7,a7 the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 with respect to ,national ,forest ,system lands2 and 7,b7 the ,secretary of the ,interior1 with respect to public lands4