Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 114–275 Statute Compilation United States House of Representatives Office of the Legislative Counsel text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. GPO Statute Compilations USLM converter, version 20240419 2026-09-25 Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 18454 114 2016-12-14 Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 [(Public Law 114–275)] [This law has not been amended] [Currency: This publication is a compilation of the text of Public Law 114–275. It was last amended by the public law listed in the As Amended Through note above and below at the bottom of each page of the pdf version and reflects current law through the date of the enactment of the public law listed at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/comps/] [Note: While this publication does not represent an official version of any Federal statute, substantial efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents. The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).]
AN ACTTo require limitations on prescribed burns.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. [16 U.S.C. 551 note] SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the “Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016”.
SEC. 2. [16 U.S.C. 551c-1 note] 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.
SEC. 3. [16 U.S.C. 551c-1] 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).