1.This Act may be cited as
the Fire-Safe Communities
Act
.
2.In this Act:
(1)Applicable
model ordinanceThe term applicable model ordinance
means either—
(A)the Federal model
ordinance required by section 3(a); or
(B)a State model
ordinance described in section 3(d).
(2)The term appropriate review panel
means a panel of individuals who—
(A)(i)are fire protection
experts; or
(ii)have significant expertise in fire
management, fire policy, community planning, or issues related to a fire hazard
area; and
(B)are appointed by
the Under Secretary.
(3)The
term Director means the Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
(4)The term fire hazard area means an area at
significant risk from wildland fire as determined by the applicable State
forestry agency or equivalent State agency.
(5)The term fire-safe community
means—
(A)a subdivision of
a State that has adopted local ordinances that are consistent with each element
set out in section 3(b); or
(B)a municipality at
risk that has adopted local ordinances that are consistent with some but not
all of the elements set out in section 3(b), if the Under Secretary determines
that local conditions make the incorporation of such elements impractical or
counterproductive for such municipality.
(6)The term municipality at risk means a
subdivision of a State that is located in a fire hazard area.
(7)The term Under Secretary means the Under
Secretary for Federal Emergency Management of the Department of Homeland
Security.
3.Model ordinances
for communities in fire hazard areas
(a)Not later than 18
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall publish
a Federal model ordinance for municipalities at risk that contains the elements
described in subsection (b).
(b)A model ordinance required by subsection
(a) shall include the following elements with respect to fire prevention and
management.
(1)Specifications
for construction materials and techniques for use in such communities.
(2)Guidelines for
the placement of utilities, defensible space, and vegetation management.
(3)Enforcement
mechanisms for compliance with defensible space requirements.
(4)Zoning and site
design standards for new residential construction, including the width and
placement of surrounding fuel breaks and description of unsafe areas to locate
new homes, such as the top of highly dangerous canyons that funnel wildfire
heat.
(5)Specifications
for water supplies for firefighting.
(6)Requirements for
adequate firefighting protection, including requirements for fire stations and
equipment.
(7)Guidelines for
the participation of fire professionals in the development of local fire
protection models.
(8)Standards for
roads, culverts, and bridges.
(9)Guidelines for
the marking of buildings and homes.
(c)Development of
Federal model ordinance
(1)In
developing the model ordinance required by subsection (a), the Director—
(A)shall consult
with the Under Secretary, the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Director of
the Bureau of Land Management; and
(B)may consult with
others, including private entities that write fire codes.
(2)The Director may incorporate into the Federal model
ordinance all or part of existing consensus-based standards for fire hazard
areas, or other model codes such as the International Wildland-Urban Interface
Code or National Fire Protection Association standards.
(d)A State may adopt model ordinances incorporating
appropriate elements set out in subsection (b) for the communities of such
State.
(e)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated
$7,500,000 to carry out subsection (a).
4.Additional fire
management assistance grants for fire-safe communities
(a)
(1)The Under
Secretary may modify, for a municipality at risk, the requirements of the Fire
Management Assistance Grant Program related to the provision of a non-Federal
share of funds, as set forth in paragraph (2).
(2)If a municipality at risk has adopted an
applicable model ordinance and is making significant progress toward
implementing that model ordinance, the Under Secretary may reduce the required
amount for such non-Federal share to 10 percent of the grant amount.
(b)Not
later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under
Secretary shall complete a rulemaking—
(1)to define
significant progress toward implementing that model ordinance as
used in subsection (a); and
(2)to establish
other procedures and requirements for increasing or decreasing the non-Federal
share for the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program pursuant to subsection
(a).
(c)Fire Management
Assistance Grant Program definedIn this section, the term
Fire Management Assistance Grant Program means the fire management
assistance grant program carried out pursuant to section 420 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187).
5.Grants for
responsible development
(a)Subject to the availability of funds for this purpose,
the Under Secretary shall provide grants to municipalities at risk—
(1)to encourage
responsible development in State-identified fire-prone regions; and
(2)to mitigate the
catastrophic effects of fires.
(b)Grants awarded under
this section may be used as follows:
(1)By fire-safe
communities to implement or enforce local ordinances consistent with an
applicable model ordinance.
(2)To carry out
programs to provide education to community planners and local fire departments
on code enforcement and fire-resistant planning, zoning, and home
construction.
(3)To enforce
requirements related to residential construction or brush clearing
requirements.
(4)To create fire
maps using geographic information system technology and provide training in
such technology.
(5)To provide
education to the public on fire-safe practices.
(c)The amount of a grant awarded under this section may not
be more than $1,000,000.
(d)
(1)An application for a grant under this section shall be
made at such time and in such manner as the Under Secretary shall
require.
(2)
(A)Subject to subparagraph (B), the Under Secretary shall
require that a person who receives a grant under this subsection provide
non-Federal funds in an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount of such
grant.
(B)The
Under Secretary may waive the requirement of subparagraph (A) in extraordinary
circumstances.
(3)Applications
for grants under this section shall be reviewed by an appropriate review panel
established by the Under Secretary.
(e)A grant awarded under this section shall be
expended not later than 3 years after the date the grant is awarded.
(f)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for fiscal
year 2008 and each fiscal year thereafter.
6.Grants for
fire-hazard assessment maps
(a)The Under Secretary shall provide grants to States to
create or update fire-hazard assessment maps.
(b)Grants awarded under this section may be used as
follows:
(1)To develop or
update maps that assess fire hazard in a State.
(2)To conduct
studies and to provide equipment, personnel, or other resources necessary to
develop or update such maps.
(c)
(1)The
amount of a grant awarded under this section may not be more than
$1,000,000.
(2)Requirement for
matching fundsA State that receives a grant under this section
shall provide an equal amount of State funds to create or update fire-hazard
assessment maps.
(d)
(1)An application for a grant under this section shall be
made at such time and in such manner as the Under Secretary shall
require.
(2)Applications
for grants under this section shall be reviewed by an appropriate review panel
established by the Under Secretary.
(e)A
grant awarded under this section shall be expended not later than 3 years after
the date the grant is awarded.
(f)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each fiscal year
thereafter.
7.Forest service
and department of the interior grantsSection 10A of the Cooperative Forestry
Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2106c) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a)—
(A)in the matter
preceding paragraph (1)—
(i)by
inserting and the Secretary of the Interior
after The
Secretary
; and
(ii)by
striking and equivalent State officials
and inserting
equivalent State officials, and local officials
;
(B)in paragraph
(3)—
(i)by
striking trees and forests
and inserting trees, forests,
and rangelands
; and
(ii)by
inserting and rangeland
after overall forest
;
and
(C)in paragraph
(4)—
(i)by
inserting and rangeland
after all forest
;
and
(ii)by
inserting and other vegetation
after forest
cover
;
(2)in subsection
(b)—
(A)in paragraph
(1)—
(i)in
subparagraph (C), by striking and
at the end;
(ii)in
subparagraph (D), by striking wildfires.
and inserting
wildfires; and
; and
(iii)by adding at
the end the following new subparagraph:
(E)to enhance the
capacity of local governments to integrate fire-resistant community and home
design into local planning, zoning, building code, and brush clearing
ordinances.
;
(B)by amending
paragraph (2) to read as follows:
(2)Administration
and implementationThe Program shall be administered by the Chief
of the Forest Service and the Secretary of the Interior and implemented through
State foresters or equivalent State
officials.
;
(C)in paragraph
(3)—
(i)in
the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking Secretary,
and inserting Secretary and the Secretary of the
Interior
;
(ii)by
redesignating subparagraphs (F), (G), and (H) as subparagraphs (G), (H), and
(I), respectively;
(iii)by inserting
after subparagraph (E) the following new subparagraph:
(F)programs to build
the capacity of local governments to design and maintain fire-resistant
communities;
;
(D)in paragraph (4),
by inserting or the Secretary of the Interior
after by
the Secretary
; and
(E)in paragraph (5),
by inserting and the Secretary of the Interior
after The
Secretary
;
(3)by redesignating
subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively;
(4)by inserting
after subsection (b), the following new subsection (c):
(c)Pilot program
for fire-safe communities to coordinate across jurisdictional
boundaries
(1)The
Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior may carry out a pilot program to
assess the feasibility and advisability of providing assistance to fire-safe
communities located near Federal land to assist in Federal efforts to prevent
and manage fires.
(2)The
Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior may carry out the pilot program
through the award of grants for purposes of the pilot program.
(3)A recipient of a grant under the pilot program may use the
grant for any of the following:
(A)To implement or
enforce local ordinances consistent with the Federal model ordinance or
applicable State model ordinance.
(B)To complete
cooperative fire agreements that articulate the roles and responsibilities for
Federal, State, and local government entities in local wildfire suppression and
protection.
(C)To develop or
implement community wildfire protection plans to better focus resources to
address priority areas for hazardous fuels reduction projects.
(D)To expand
education programs to raise the awareness of homeowners and citizens of
wildland fire protection practices.
(E)To implement
training programs for firefighters on wildland firefighting techniques and
approaches.
(F)To acquire
equipment acquisition to facilitate wildland fire preparedness.
(4)
(A)Subject to subparagraph (B), a person who receives a
grant under the pilot program shall provide non-Federal funds in an amount
equal to 25 percent of the amount of such grant.
(B)The
Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior may waive the requirements of
subparagraph (A) in extraordinary
circumstances.
;
(5)in subsection
(d), as redesignated by paragraph (3), by inserting and the Secretary of
the Interior
after section, the Secretary
; and
(6)in subsection
(e), as redesignated by paragraph (3)—
(A)in the matter
preceding paragraph (1), by striking to the Secretary
;
(B)in paragraph (1),
by striking and
at the end; and
(C)by striking
paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
(2)to the
Secretary—
(A)$35,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013; and
(B)such sums as are
necessary for each fiscal year thereafter; and
(3)to the Secretary
of the Interior—
(A)$15,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013; and
(B)such sums as are
necessary for each fiscal year
thereafter.
.