[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4233 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4233

  To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to expand the 
areas of Federal land on which hazardous fuel reduction projects may be 
conducted under that Act, to add protection of infrastructure in rural 
    communities as an additional purpose of that Act, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 8, 2009

Ms. Herseth Sandlin (for herself, Mr. Walden, Mr. Baird, Mrs. McMorris 
  Rodgers, and Mr. Schrader) 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 expand the 
areas of Federal land on which hazardous fuel reduction projects may be 
conducted under that Act, to add protection of infrastructure in rural 
    communities as an additional purpose of that Act, 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 ``Healthy Forests Restoration 
Amendments Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PURPOSE OF ACT.

    Section 2(6) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
U.S.C. 6501(6)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) to protect infrastructure in rural 
                communities.''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.

    Section 101(16)(A) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
(16 U.S.C. 6511(16)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``protection 
plan'' the following: ``, as established in the manner described in 
section 101(3)''.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF FEDERAL LAND ELIGIBLE FOR HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION 
              PROJECTS.

    (a) Covered Lands.--Section 102(a) of the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6512(a)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting 
        ``necessary connected actions (as described in section 
        1508.25(a)1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations), and 
        forest and rangeland health restoration,'' after ``hazardous 
        fuels reduction projects,'';
            (2) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) and inserting 
        the following new paragraphs:
            ``(2) condition class 2 or condition class 3 Federal land 
        located within fire regime I, fire regime II, or fire regime 
        III;
            ``(3) Federal land on which windthrow or blowdown, ice 
        storm damage, the existence of an infestation of disease or 
        insects, or the presence of such an infestation on immediately 
        adjacent land and the risk it will spread, poses a significant 
        threat to a forest or rangeland resource on the Federal land or 
        adjacent non-Federal land; and''; and
            (3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4) and, in 
        such paragraph, by striking ``paragraphs (1) through (4)'' and 
        inserting ``paragraphs (1) through (3)''.
    (b) Acreage Limitation.--Section 102 of the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6512) is amended by striking 
subsection (c).

SEC. 5. FUNDING PRIORITIES.

    Section 103(d)(1)(A) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
(16 U.S.C. 6513(d)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``interface'' 
the following: ``, as established in the manner described in section 
101(3)''.

SEC. 6. ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.

    Subsection (d) of section 104 of the Healthy Forests Restoration 
Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6514) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Alternative Analysis Process for Projects in Wildland-Urban 
Interface.--
            ``(1) Proposed agency action and no action alternative.--
        The Secretary is not required to study, develop, or describe 
        more than the proposed agency action and a no action 
        alternative in the environmental assessment or environmental 
        impact statement prepared pursuant to section 102(2) of the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) 
        for an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project that is 
        proposed to be conducted--
                    ``(A) in the wildland-urban interface, as 
                established in the manner described in section 101(3);
                    ``(B) if subparagraph (A) does not apply, in the 
                wildland-urban interface located no further than 1\1/2\ 
                miles from the boundary of an at-risk community; or
                    ``(C) on Federal land identified as condition class 
                2 or condition class 3 and not withdrawn in this Act.
            ``(2) Additional alternative.--If an at-risk community has 
        adopted a community wildfire protection plan in the manner 
        described in section 101(3) and the proposed agency action for 
        an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project does not 
        implement the recommendations in the plan regarding the general 
        location and basic method of treatments, the Secretary shall 
        evaluate the recommendations in the plan as an additional 
        alternative to the proposed agency action in the environmental 
        assessment or environmental impact statement prepared pursuant 
        to section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
        1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)).''.
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