1.This Act may be cited as the
National Forest Insect and Disease
Emergency Act of 2009
.
2.The purposes of this
Act are—
(1)to ensure that
adequate emphasis is placed on the mitigation of hazards posed by large-scale
infestations of bark beetles and other insects through the establishment of
insect and disease emergency areas;
(2)to ensure that
increased resources are available within each designated insect and disease
emergency area to mitigate hazards associated with—
(A)falling
trees;
(B)increased fire
hazards; and
(C)the restoration of
National Forest System land; and
(3)to make permanent,
as of the date of enactment of this Act, existing good neighbor and stewardship
contracting authorities.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term affected State includes each of the
States of—
(A)Arizona;
(B)California;
(C)Colorado;
(D)Idaho;
(E)Montana;
(F)Nevada;
(G)New Mexico;
(H)Oregon;
(I)South
Dakota;
(J)Utah;
(K)Washington;
and
(L)Wyoming.
(2)Insect and
disease emergency areaThe term insect and disease
emergency area means an area of National Forest System land—
(A)that is located in
an affected State that is not—
(i)designated as
wilderness; or
(ii)an area
recommended for wilderness in a forest land and resource management
plan;
(B)in which an insect
and disease infestation emergency exists, as determined by the Secretary;
and
(C)that is designated
by—
(i)section 4(a);
or
(ii)the Secretary
under section 4(c).
(3)Insect and
disease infestation emergencyThe term insect and disease
infestation emergency means an insect or disease infestation that has
resulted in—
(A)a current or
future increased risk of catastrophic wildland fire; or
(B)an increased
threat posed by hazard trees to—
(i)utility
corridors;
(ii)communication
sites;
(iii)roads;
(iv)recreation
sites;
(v)water structures
(such as reservoirs and water conveyance systems); or
(vi)other
infrastructure.
(4)The term map means the map entitled
Insect Emergency Areas
.
(5)The term National Forest System has the
meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(6)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.
4.Designation of
insect and disease emergency areas
(a)Each
area depicted on the map is designated as an insect and disease emergency area
under this Act.
(b)
(1)As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall file the map for insect and disease emergency
areas designated by subsection (a) with—
(A)the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate;
(B)the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;
(C)the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and
(D)the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives.
(2)The map filed under paragraph (1) shall have the same force
and effect as if included in this subsection, except that the Secretary may
correct typographical errors in the map and the legal descriptions.
(3)The map filed under paragraph (1) shall be on file
and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Forest
Service.
(c)
(1)The Secretary may designate additional insect and disease
emergency areas in accordance with each requirement described in this
subsection.
(2)The
designation of an insect and disease emergency area may be made by the
Secretary—
(A)on the initiative
of the Secretary; or
(B)in response to a
request by any Governor of an affected State.
(3)If
the Governor of a State described in paragraph (2)(B) requests the Secretary to
designate as an insect and disease emergency area an area located in the State,
the Secretary shall accept or deny the request by a date that is not later than
90 days after the date on which the Secretary receives the request.
(4)With respect to National Forest System land, the
Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, may delegate the
authority to make a designation under this subsection only to a Regional
Forester of the National Forest System land.
(5)If
the Secretary designates an additional insect and disease emergency area under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
(A)publish a notice
of the designation of the insect and disease emergency area (including a map of
the insect and disease emergency area) in the Federal Register; and
(B)notify—
(i)each appropriate
State; and
(ii)the appropriate
committees of Congress.
(6)A
designation made by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall not be subject
to—
(A)the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
(B)section 322 of the
Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999
(Public Law 105–277; 112 Stat. 2681–289); or
(C)any other
applicable law (including regulations).
5.Response to
emergency designation
(a)In carrying out the management of an insect and
disease emergency area, the Secretary shall give priority consideration
to—
(1)the removal of
hazardous fuels and hazard trees on, and the restoration of the health of,
National Forest System land located in the insect and disease emergency area;
and
(2)the provision of
assistance to State and local governments, Indian tribes, and private
landowners for the removal of hazardous fuels and hazard trees on, and the
restoration of the health of, each parcel of land located in the insect and
disease emergency area—
(A)that is under the
jurisdiction of the State or local government or Indian tribe; or
(B)the title of which
is held by a private landowner; and
(3)the making of
payments under section 9011(d)(1)(B) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment
Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8111(d)(1)(B)) to each individual or entity that collects
or harvests renewable biomass from a parcel of National Forest System land
located in an insect and disease emergency area.
(b)Emergency forest
restorationIn implementing the emergency forest restoration
program under section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C.
2206), the Secretary may make payments to an owner of a parcel of nonindustrial
private forest land that is located in an insect and disease emergency area to
carry out emergency measures in response to an insect and disease infestation
emergency under this Act.
(c)Any
biomass removed from a parcel of land located in an insect and disease
emergency area shall be considered to be renewable biomass for purposes of the
renewable fuel standard under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7545(o)).
(d)Healthy forest
restoration
(1)The Secretary may apply each requirement described in
sections 104 and 105 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C.
6514, 6515) to projects that are carried out to remove hazardous fuels and
hazard trees on, and to restore the health of, National Forest System land that
is located in an insect and disease emergency area.
(2)Section 106 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003
(16 U.S.C. 6516) shall apply to each project described in paragraph (1).
6.
(a)
(1)Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, United States
Code, and any provisions of law related to competition, the Secretary may enter
into a contract (including a sole source contract) or agreement (including an
agreement for the mutual benefit of the Secretary and the State), as
appropriate and consistent with all applicable general and specific operating
procedures established by the Forest Service for such contracts and agreements
(including labor and wage requirements), with a State to permit the State to
perform watershed restoration and protection services on National Forest System
land located in the State if the State is carrying out similar and
complementary watershed restoration and protection services on adjacent State
or private land.
(2)Watershed restoration and protection services described
in paragraph (1) include—
(A)the treatment of
insect-infested trees;
(B)the reduction of
hazardous fuels; and
(C)any other activity
that is carried out to restore or improve watersheds or fish and wildlife
habitat across ownership boundaries.
(b)Administrative
provisions
(1)National Forest
Management Act of 1976Subsections (d) and (g) of section 14 of
the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a) shall not apply to
services performed under a contract or other agreement under subsection
(a)(1).
(2)The State shall assume liability, to the extent allowed
by Federal, State, and local law, for the actions or omissions of employees or
subcontractors of the State in preparing or implementing a contract or
agreement under this title.
(3)A
State may subcontract, to the extent allowed by State and local law, to prepare
or implement a contract or agreement under this title.
(4)Any dispute under a contract or agreement under
subsection (a)(1) shall be resolved in accordance with, as applicable—
(A)the dispute clause
of the contract or agreement;
(B)the Contract
Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or
(C)section 1491 of
title 28, United States Code.
(c)Retention of
responsibilities under National Environmental Policy Act of
1969With respect to any watershed restoration and protection
service on National Forest System land that is proposed to be carried out by a
State under subsection (a), any decision required to be made under the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) may not be delegated to the State or
any officer or employee of the State.
(d)
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), the authority provided by this
section applies only to National Forest System land located in affected
States.
(2)Secretary of the
InteriorWith respect to public land that is located in an
affected State and administered by the Secretary of the Interior (acting
through the Bureau of Land Management), the Secretary of the Interior may carry
out activities under this section on the public land.
7.
(a)
(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including
section 304B of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949
(41 U.S.C. 254c), the Secretary may not obligate funds to cover the cost of
canceling a Forest Service multiyear stewardship contract under section 347 of
the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999
(16 U.S.C. 2104 note; Public Law 105–277) until the date on which the multiyear
stewardship contract is cancelled.
(2)Costs of
cancellation or terminationThe costs of any cancellation or
termination of a multiyear stewardship contract described in paragraph (1) may
be paid from any appropriations that are made available to the Forest
Service.
(3)In the case in which the appropriations described in
paragraph (2) are exhausted—
(A)the exhaustion
shall not be considered to be a violation of section 1341 of title 31, United
States Code; and
(B)the Secretary
shall seek a supplemental appropriation.
(b)Section 347(a) of the Department of the Interior and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 2104 note; Public Law
105–277) is amended by striking Until September 30, 2013, the
and inserting The
.
8.Nothing in this Act affects or diminishes
the rights of any owner of private property.
1.This Act may be cited as the
National Forest Insect and Disease
Emergency Act of 2010
.
2.The purposes of this Act are—
(1)to ensure that adequate
emphasis is placed on the mitigation of hazards posed by landscape-scale
epidemics of bark beetles and other insects and diseases through the
identification of areas affected by the epidemics, including areas in which
resulting hazard trees pose a high risk to public health and safety;
(2)to help focus resources
within areas characterized by landscape-scale insect or disease epidemics to
mitigate hazards associated with—
(A)falling trees; and
(B)wildfire; and
(3)to authorize good
neighbor agreements between State and Federal agencies to provide more
effective and efficient forest management across certain Federal land
boundaries.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term affected State includes each of the
States of—
(A)Alaska;
(B)Arizona;
(C)California;
(D)Colorado;
(E)Idaho;
(F)Montana;
(G)Nevada;
(H)New Mexico;
(I)Oregon;
(J)South Dakota;
(K)Utah;
(L)Washington; and
(M)Wyoming.
(2)The term high-risk area means a road, trail, or
other area that poses a high risk to public health or safety due to hazard
trees resulting from landscape-scale tree mortality caused by an insect or
disease epidemic.
(3)Insect or disease
epidemic areaThe term insect or disease epidemic
area means an area of National Forest System land in which
landscape-scale tree mortality caused by an insect or disease epidemic
exists.
(4)The term National Forest System has the
meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(5)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.
4.
(a)Identification of
high-risk areas
(1)As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall identify by map or other appropriate means
high-risk areas within the National Forest System in the affected
States.
(2)In conjunction with the information developed pursuant
this subsection, the Secretary shall develop educational materials that
describe the risk posed by hazard trees in high-risk areas and measures that
can be taken by the public to avoid or reduce that risk.
(3)In
developing the information and educational materials required by this
subsection, the Secretary shall consult with interested State, local, and
tribal governments, first responders, and other stakeholders.
(4)The
Secretary shall periodically review and revise the information and educational
materials required by this subsection to reflect the best available
information.
(5)The information and associated educational materials
required by this subsection shall be on file and available for public
inspection, including in the appropriate offices of the Forest Service.
(b) Identification of
insect and disease epidemic areas
(1)As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall identify by map or other appropriate means insect
or disease epidemic areas within the National Forest System in the affected
States.
(2)The information required by paragraph (1) shall
include—
(A)a geographic estimate of
the annual mortality caused by the insect or disease epidemic; and
(B)a projection, based on
the best available science, of future tree mortality resulting from the insect
or disease epidemic.
(3)The
Secretary shall periodically review and revise the information required by
paragraph (1) to reflect the best available information.
(4)The
information required by this subsection shall be made available to—
(A)communities in or
adjacent to an insect or disease epidemic area that have developed a community
wildfire protection plan (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511));
(B)fire departments and
other wildfire-fighting organizations responding to, or likely to respond to, a
wildfire in an insect or disease epidemic area; and
(C)the public through the
appropriate offices of the Forest Service.
(c)Contracts and financial
assistanceTo help collect, develop, monitor, and distribute the
information and materials required by this section, the Secretary may enter
into contracts or provide financial assistance through cooperative agreements
in accordance with section 8 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978
(16 U.S.C. 2104) with—
(1)the State Forester or
equivalent State official of an affected State;
(2)educational institutions;
or
(3)other
organizations.
5.Support for restoration
and response
(a)Support for biomass
utilizationTo help reduce the risk to public health and safety
from hazard trees and wildfires and to restore ecosystems affected by insect
and disease epidemics, the Secretary may assist State and local governments,
Indian tribes, private landowners, and other persons in affected States with
the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible material from
areas identified pursuant to section 4(b) in accordance with section 9011(d) of
the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8111(d)).
(b)Restoration assistance
for private landownersThe Secretary may make payments to an
owner of nonindustrial private forest land in an affected State to carry out
emergency measures to restore the land after an insect or disease infestation
in accordance with the emergency forest restoration program established under
section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206).
(c)National forest
hazardous fuel reductionThe Secretary shall carry out authorized
hazardous fuel reduction projects in affected States on National Forest System
land on which an epidemic of disease or insects poses a significant threat to
an ecosystem component, or forest or rangeland resource, in accordance with the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.).
6.
(a)In
this section:
(1)Authorized restoration
servicesThe term authorized restoration services
means similar and complementary forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration
services carried out on adjacent Federal land and non-Federal land by either
the Secretary or a Governor pursuant to—
(A)a good neighbor
agreement; and
(B)a cooperative agreement
or contract entered into under subsection (c).
(2)
(A)The term Federal land means the following
land in a State located in whole or in part west of the 100th meridian:
(i)National Forest System
land.
(ii)Public lands (as defined
in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1702)).
(B)The
term Federal land does not include—
(i)a component of the
National Wilderness Preservation System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System, National Trails System, or National Landscape Conservation
System;
(ii)a National Monument,
National Preserve, National Scenic Area, or National Recreation Area; or
(iii)a wilderness study
area.
(3)Forest, rangeland, and
watershed restoration servicesThe term forest, rangeland,
and watershed restoration services means—
(A)activities to treat
insect- and disease-infected trees;
(B)activities to reduce
hazardous fuels;
(C)activities to maintain
roads and trails that cross a boundary between Federal land and non-Federal
land; and
(D)any other activities to
restore or improve forest, rangeland, or watershed health, including fish and
wildlife habitat.
(4)The term good neighbor agreement
means—
(A)a nonfunding master
cooperative agreement entered into between the Secretary and a Governor under
chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code; or
(B)a memorandum of agreement
or understanding entered into between the Secretary and a Governor.
(5)The
term Governor means the Governor or any other appropriate
executive official of an affected State.
(6)The
term Secretary means—
(A)the Secretary of
Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System land; and
(B)the Secretary of the
Interior, with respect to Bureau of Land Management land.
(b)
(1)The Secretary may enter into a good neighbor agreement
with a Governor to coordinate the procurement and implementation of authorized
restoration services in accordance with this section.
(2)Public notice and
commentThe Secretary shall make each good neighbor agreement
available to the public.
(c)Task orders, contracts,
and cooperative agreements
(1)The Secretary may issue a task order for, or enter into a
contract (including a sole source contract) or cooperative agreement with, a
Governor to carry out authorized restoration services.
(2)Each
task order, contract, or cooperative agreement entered into under paragraph (1)
shall be executed in accordance with—
(A)chapter 63 of title 31,
United States Code; and
(B)the applicable good
neighbor agreement.
(d)Contract and
subcontract requirements
(1)Requirements for
services on Federal land
(A)For authorized restoration services carried out on
Federal land under subsection (c), each contract and subcontract issued under
the authority of a Governor shall include the provisions described in
subparagraph (B) that would have been included in the contract had the
Secretary been a party to the contract.
(B)The provisions referred to in subparagraph (A) are
provisions for—
(i)wages and benefits for
workers employed by contractors and subcontractors required by—
(I)subchapter IV of chapter
31 of part A of subtitle II of title 40, United States Code; and
(II)chapter 6 of title 41,
United States Code;
(ii)nondiscrimination;
and
(iii)worker safety and
protection.
(2) Requirements for small
businessesEach contract and subcontract for authorized
restoration services under subsection (c) shall comply with provisions for
small business assistance and protection that would have been applicable to the
contract had the Secretary been a party to the contract.
(3)The
Secretary shall include provisions in each good neighbor agreement, contract,
or cooperative agreement, as appropriate, governing the potential liability of
the State and the Secretary for actions carried out under this Act.
(e)Termination of
effectiveness
(1)The authority of the Secretary to enter into cooperative
agreements and contracts under this section terminates on September 30,
2019.
(2)The termination date of a cooperative agreement or contract
entered into under this section shall not extend beyond September 30,
2020.
(3)
(A)Federal and State
cooperative watershed restoration and protection in
ColoradoSection 331 of the Department of the Interior and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–291; 114 Stat. 996)
is repealed.
(B)Federal and State
cooperative forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration in
UtahSection 337 of the Department of the Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public Law 108–447; 118 Stat. 3102) is
repealed.
(4)Nothing in the amendments made by this section affects
contracts in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
7.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as are
necessary.
September 27, 2010
Reported with an amendment