[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4245 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4245

To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to provide for the 
   categorical exclusion of certain projects on Federal land located 
  adjacent to non-Federal land from documentation in an environmental 
  impact statement or environmental assessment when conditions on the 
Federal land pose a serious risk to the non-Federal land, to authorize 
the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to enter 
 into contracts or agreements for forest projects on Federal land with 
  non-Federal entities that own adjacent land, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 15, 2007

   Mr. Sali introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural 
 Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to provide for the 
   categorical exclusion of certain projects on Federal land located 
  adjacent to non-Federal land from documentation in an environmental 
  impact statement or environmental assessment when conditions on the 
Federal land pose a serious risk to the non-Federal land, to authorize 
the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to enter 
 into contracts or agreements for forest projects on Federal land with 
  non-Federal entities that own adjacent land, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Saving American Lives and Investing 
in Protecting Land And Nature Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPEDITED PERFORMANCE OF FOREST PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND WHEN 
              CONDITIONS ON THE FEDERAL LAND POSE A SERIOUS RISK TO 
              ADJACENT NON-FEDERAL LAND.

    (a) Categorical Exclusion of Certain Projects.--Section 104 of the 
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6514) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (e) through (h) as 
        subsections (f) through (i), respectively; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Categorical Exclusion for Projects To Protect Adjacent Non-
Federal Land.--
            ``(1) Basis for categorical exclusion.--An authorized 
        hazardous fuel reduction project or other forest project that 
        is proposed to be conducted on adjacent Federal land or that is 
        recommended in a community wildfire protection plan may be 
        categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental 
        impact statement or environmental assessment under the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) if--
                    ``(A) the Secretary determines that the project is 
                consistent with the applicable resource management 
                plan; and
                    ``(B) the decision to categorically exclude the 
                project is made in accordance with applicable 
                extraordinary circumstances procedures established 
                pursuant to section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal 
                Regulations.
            ``(2) Priority for certain projects.--In providing 
        categorical exclusions under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
        give priority to authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects 
        and other projects recommended in a community wildfire 
        protection plan.
            ``(3) Adjacent federal land defined.--In this subsection, 
        the term `adjacent Federal land' means an area of Federal land 
        that, while not located in the wildland-urban interface, is 
        located within not more than 1\1/2\ miles of non-Federal land, 
        and the Secretary, in the exercise of the Secretary's sole 
        discretion, determines that conditions on the Federal land, 
        such as the risk of wildfire, an insect or disease epidemic, or 
        the presence of invasive species, pose a risk to the adjacent 
        non-Federal land.''.
    (b) Enhanced Cooperation With Non-Federal Landowners.--Title I of 
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 109. COOPERATION WITH NON-FEDERAL LANDOWNERS OF LAND ADJACENT TO 
              FEDERAL LAND TO ENHANCE PROTECTION OF BOTH THE FEDERAL 
              AND NON-FEDERAL LAND.

    ``(a) Use of Non-Federal Landowners To Conduct Forest Projects.--
The Secretary may enter into a contract or agreement with a non-Federal 
entity to conduct an authorized hazardous fuels reduction project or 
other project that is proposed to be conducted on Federal land that is 
located within not more than 1\1/2\ miles of non-Federal land owned by 
the non-Federal entity or that is covered by a community wildfire 
protection plan that also covers the non-Federal land owned by the non-
Federal entity if--
            ``(1) the Secretary, upon request by the non-Federal entity 
        and in the exercise of the Secretary's sole discretion, 
        determines that conditions on the Federal land, such as the 
        risk of wildfire, an insect or disease epidemic, or the 
        presence of invasive species, pose a risk to the adjacent non-
        Federal land;
            ``(2) the Secretary determines that the contract or 
        agreement is in the interest of the Federal government and the 
        landowner and will promote the goals of this Act; and
            ``(3) the authorized hazardous fuels reduction project or 
        other project is consistent with the applicable resource 
        management plan.
    ``(b) Goods for Services.--The Secretary may allow the exchange of 
goods for services in an agreement or contract entered into under this 
section.''.
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