1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Federal Land Assistance,
Management and Enhancement Act
or FLAME
Act
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Flame Fund for catastrophic emergency wildland fire
suppression activities.
Sec. 3. Cohesive wildland fire management strategy.
Sec. 4. Review of certain wildfires to evaluate cost
containment in wildland fire suppression activities.
Sec. 5. Reducing risk of wildfires in fire-ready
communities.
2.Flame Fund for
catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities
(a)In this section:
(1)The term Federal land means the
following:
(A)Public lands, as
defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
(43 U.S.C. 1702).
(B)Units of the
National Park System.
(C)Refuges of the
National Wildlife Refuge System.
(D)Lands held in trust by the United States
for the benefit of Indian tribes or individual Indians.
(E)Lands in the
National Forest System, as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(2)The term Flame
Fund means the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Fund
established by this section.
(3)The term
Secretary concerned means—
(A)the Secretary of
the Interior, with respect to Federal land described in subparagraphs (A), (B),
(C), and (D) of paragraph (1); and
(B)the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect
to National Forest System land.
(4)The
term Secretaries means the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Agriculture, acting jointly.
(b)Establishment
and Availability of Flame Fund
(1)There is established in the Treasury of the
United States a fund to be known as the Federal Land Assistance, Management,
and Enhancement Fund.
(2)The Flame Fund shall consist of the
following amounts:
(A)Amounts
appropriated to the Flame Fund pursuant to the authorization of appropriations
in subsection (c).
(B)Amounts transferred to the Flame Fund
pursuant to subsection (d).
(3)Subject to subsection (e), amounts in the
Flame Fund shall be available to the Secretaries to pay the costs of
catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities that are separate
from amounts annually appropriated to the Secretaries for the predicted annual
workload for wildland fire suppression activities, based on analyses of
historical workloads and anticipated increased workloads due to changing
environmental or demographic conditions.
(c)Authorization of
appropriations
(1)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to the Flame Fund such funds as may be necessary
to carry out this section. It is the intent of Congress that the amount
appropriated to the Flame Fund for fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent fiscal
year equal the average amount expended by the Secretaries for emergency
wildland fire suppression activities over the five fiscal years preceding that
fiscal year.
(2)Sense of
congress on designation of certain appropriations as emergency
requirementIt is the sense
of Congress that the amounts appropriated to the Flame Fund that are above the
average of the obligations of the preceding 10 years for wildland fire
suppression in the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior, adjusted
for inflation, should be designated as amounts necessary to meet emergency
needs, and the new budget authority and outlays resulting therefrom should not
count for the purposes of titles III and IV of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974.
(3)Notice of
insufficient fundsThe
Secretaries shall notify the congressional committees specified in subsection
(h)(2) whenever only an estimated two months worth of funding remains in the
Flame Fund.
(d)Transfer of
excess wildland fire suppression amounts into Flame FundAt the end of each fiscal year, the
Secretary concerned shall transfer to the Flame Fund amounts appropriated to
the Secretary concerned for wildland fire suppression activities for the fiscal
year, but not obligated for wildland fire suppression activities before the end
of the fiscal year.
(e)
(1)Amounts in the Flame
Fund shall be made available to the Secretary concerned only after the
Secretaries issue a declaration that a wildland fire suppression activity is
eligible for funding through the Flame Fund.
(2)A declaration by the
Secretaries under paragraph (1) shall be based on the following
criteria:
(A)In the case of an
individual wildland fire incident—
(i)the
fire covers 300 or more acres;
(ii)the
severity of the fire, which may be based on incident complexity or the
potential for increased complexity; and
(iii)the threat posed
by the fire, including the potential for loss of lives, property, or critical
resources.
(B)Consistent with subsection (f), in the case
of a firefighting season, cumulative wildland fire suppression activities, when
the costs of those activities for the Secretary concerned are projected to
exceed amounts annually appropriated.
(3)Transfer of
amounts to secretary concernedAfter issuance of a declaration
under paragraph (1) and upon the request of the Secretary concerned, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Flame Fund to the Secretary
concerned such amounts as the Secretaries determine are necessary for wildland
fire suppression activities associated with the declared suppression
emergency.
(4)State, private,
and tribal landUse of the
Flame Fund for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities on
State and private land and, where applicable, tribal land shall be consistent
with existing agreements where the Secretaries have agreed to assume
responsibility for wildland fire suppression activities on the land.
(f)Treatment of
anticipated and predicted activitiesThe Secretary concerned shall continue to
fund anticipated and predicted wildland fire suppression activities within the
appropriate agency budget for each fiscal year. Use of the additional funding
made available through the Flame Fund is intended to supplement the budgeted
and appropriated agency funding and is to be used only for purposes and in
instances consistent with this section.
(g)Prohibition on
other transfersAll amounts in the Flame Fund, as well as all
funds appropriated for the purpose of wildland fire suppression on Federal
land, must be obligated before the Secretary concerned may transfer funds from
non-fire accounts for wildland fire suppression.
(h)
(1)Accounting and
reporting systemThe
Secretaries shall establish an accounting and reporting system for the Flame
Fund compatible with existing National Fire Plan reporting procedures.
(2)The Secretaries shall
submit to the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, and
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Indian Affairs, and
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate an annual report on the use of
the funds from the Flame Fund, together with any recommendations that the
Secretaries may have to improve the administrative control and oversight of the
Flame Fund.
(3)The annual
report required by paragraph (2) shall be made available to the public.
3.Cohesive wildland
fire management strategy
(a)Not later than one
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior
and the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report that
contains a cohesive wildland fire management strategy, consistent with the
recommendations contained in recent Comptroller General reports regarding this
issue.
(b)The strategy
required by subsection (a) shall address the findings of the Comptroller
General in the reports referred to in such subsection and include the following
elements:
(1)A
system to identify the most cost effective means for allocating fire management
budget resources.
(2)An illustration of plans by the Secretary
of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to reinvest in non-fire
programs.
(3)A
description of how the Secretaries will employ appropriate management
response.
(4)A
system for assessing the level of risk to communities.
(5)A
system to ensure that the highest priority fuels reduction projects are being
funded first.
(c)Notice of
prescribed firesAs part of
the strategy required by subsection (a) for the Forest Service, the Secretary
of Agriculture shall ensure that, before any prescribed fire is used on
National Forest System land, owners of adjacent private land are notified in
writing of the date and scope of the proposed prescribed fire.
4.Review of certain
wildfires to evaluate cost containment in wildland fire suppression
activities
(a)The Secretary of the
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a review, using
independent panels, of each wildfire incident for which the Secretary concerned
incurs expenses in excess of $10,000,000.
(b)The Secretary concerned shall submit to the
Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources, the Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate a report containing the results of each review
conducted under subsection (a).
5.Reducing risk of
wildfires in fire-ready communities
(a)Fire-ready
community definedIn this
section, the term fire-ready community means a community
that—
(1)is located within
a priority area identified pursuant to subsection (b);
(2)has a cooperative
fire agreement that articulates the roles and responsibilities for Federal,
State and local government entities in local wildfire suppression and
protection;
(3)has local codes
that require fire-resistant home design and building materials;
(4)has a community
wildfire protection plan (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6502)); and
(5)is engaged in a successful collaborative
process that includes multiple interested persons representing diverse
interests and is transparent and nonexclusive, such as a resource advisory
committee established under section 205 of the Secure Rural Schools and
Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–393; 16 U.S.C. 500
note).
(b)As soon as is practicable after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior (in
this section referred to as the Secretaries) shall develop
regional maps of communities most at risk of wildfire and in need of hazardous
fuel treatment and maintenance. The maps shall identify priority areas for
hazardous fuels reduction projects, including—
(1)at-risk
communities in fire-prone areas of the wildland-urban interface (as defined in
section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C.
6502));
(2)watersheds and
municipal drinking water sources;
(3)emergency
evacuation corridors;
(4)electricity
transmission corridors; and
(5)low-capacity or
low-income communities.
(c)Local wildland
firefighting capability grants
(1)The Secretaries may
provide cost-share grants to fire-ready communities to assist such communities
in carrying activities authorized by paragraph (2).
(2)Grant funds may be used for the following:
(A)Education programs
to raise awareness of homeowners and citizens about wildland fire protection
practices, including FireWise or similar programs.
(B)Training programs
for local firefighters on wildland firefighting techniques and
approaches.
(C)Equipment
acquisition to facilitate wildland fire preparedness.
(D)Implementation of
a community wildfire protection plan.
(d)Wildland fire
cost-share agreementsIn developing any wildland fire cost-share
agreement with a State Forester or equivalent official, the Secretaries shall,
to the greatest extent possible, encourage the State and local communities
involved to become fire-ready communities.
(e)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretaries to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary.