[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6519 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6519

To provide an expedited permit process to authorize private landowners 
  to conduct limited vegetation removal activities on National Forest 
System land or Bureau of Land Management land adjacent to their private 
    property to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire that would 
threaten residential structures on the private property, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2012

  Mr. Hunter (for himself, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Campbell, and 
 Mrs. Bono Mack) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, 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 provide an expedited permit process to authorize private landowners 
  to conduct limited vegetation removal activities on National Forest 
System land or Bureau of Land Management land adjacent to their private 
    property to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire that would 
threaten residential structures on the private property, 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 ``Defend Your Home Against Wildfire 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PRIVATE LANDOWNER VEGETATION REMOVAL ACTIVITIES ON NATIONAL 
              FOREST SYSTEM LAND AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND 
              ADJACENT TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible private property.--The term ``eligible private 
        property'' means a parcel of private property that--
                    (A) contains at least one residential structure; 
                and
                    (B) shares a boundary with adjacent Federal land.
            (2) Federal land.--
                    (A) Covered land.--The term ``Federal land'' means 
                the following:
                            (i) National Forest System land (as such 
                        term is defined in section 11(a) of the Forest 
                        and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 
                        of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))).
                            (ii) Public lands (as such term is defined 
                        in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and 
                        Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)).
                    (B) Excluded land.--The term does not include a 
                unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System 
                unless a residential structure on the adjacent eligible 
                private property was constructed before the date of the 
                designation of the unit.
            (3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, in the case of 
                National Forest System land; and
                    (B) the Secretary of the Interior, in the case of 
                public lands.
            (4) Vegetation removal permit.--The term ``vegetation 
        removal permit'' means a permit issued pursuant to the 
        expedited process required by subsection (b) authorizing the 
        owner of eligible private property to remove vegetation on 
        Federal land adjacent to the eligible private property.
    (b) Expedited Permit Process Required.--The Secretary concerned 
shall establish a process for the expedited consideration of a permit 
application submitted by the owner of eligible private property to 
remove vegetation on Federal land adjacent to the eligible private 
property to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire that would 
threaten a residential structure on the private property.
    (c) Deadline for Consideration; Environmental Compliance.--The 
final decision on an application for a vegetation removal permit shall 
be made not later than 14 days after the Secretary concerned receives 
the application. Consideration of the application for a vegetation 
removal permit, approval or denial of the permit, and private landowner 
vegetation removal activities conducted pursuant to the permit are not 
a major Federal action for purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
    (d) Area Scope of Permit.--A vegetation removal permit may not 
authorize vegetation removal activities by the private landowner on 
Federal land more than 100 feet beyond the boundary or boundaries 
shared by the Federal land and the eligible private property.
    (e) Cost Assistance.--The Secretary concerned may make a grant to 
the recipient of a vegetation removal permit to help cover a portion of 
the costs incurred by the private landowner to conduct vegetation 
removal activities on Federal land pursuant to the permit. The amount 
of the grant may not exceed 25 percent of the total amount of the cost 
to conduct the vegetation removal activities.
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