[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 487 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 487

  To ensure that private property, public safety, and human life are 
   protected from flood hazards that directly result from post-fire 
  watershed conditions that are created by wildfires on Federal land.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 3, 2011

  Mr. McCain introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure that private property, public safety, and human life are 
   protected from flood hazards that directly result from post-fire 
  watershed conditions that are created by wildfires on Federal land.

    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 ``Burn Area Flood Prevention Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to ensure that private property, public 
safety, and human life are protected from flood hazards that directly 
result from post-fire watershed conditions that are created by 
wildfires on Federal land.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
            (2) Affected area.--The term ``affected area'' means the 
        area that--
                    (A) suffered damage as a result of wildfire or 
                flash flooding beginning on June 20, 2010; and
                    (B) is depicted on the Arizona Division of 
                Emergency Management map entitled ``Schultz Flood #1 
                Operations Map'' and dated August 3, 2010.
            (3) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
                    (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) land held in trust by the United States for the 
                benefit of Indian tribes or members of an Indian tribe; 
                and
                    (E) 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))).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.
            (5) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the Schultz 
        Fire Flooding Area Task Force established by section 6(b).

SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF FLAME WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION RESERVE FUND 
              AUTHORITY.

    Section 502(c) of the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and 
Enhancement Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748a(c)) is amended by inserting 
``and burn area responses, including flood prevention,'' after 
``events''.

SEC. 5. INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR PRIVATE PROPERTIES AFFECTED BY FLOODING 
              FROM FEDERAL LANDS.

    Section 1306(c)(2) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 4013(c)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) the initial purchase of flood insurance 
                coverage on a determination by the Director that the 
                waiting period should be waived for private property 
                that is affected by flooding on Federal land affected 
                by wildfire.''.

SEC. 6. SCHULTZ FIRE FLOODING AREA ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) on June 20, 2010, the Schultz wildfire began burning in 
        the Coconino National Forest on Federal land that is located 
        approximately 4 miles north of the City of Flagstaff, Arizona;
            (2) the Schultz Fire burned for 10 days, destroyed more 
        than 15,000 acres of Forest Service land, and prompted the 
        evacuation of approximately 400 homes before being 100 percent 
        contained on June 30, 3010;
            (3) the Schultz Fire severely burned a large portion of the 
        forest along the steep terrain on the east side of the San 
        Francisco Peaks, leaving little ground vegetation to absorb and 
        retain rainwater;
            (4) on July 6, 2010, the Forest Service Burn Area Emergency 
        Response Team issued a hydrology specialist report that 
        assessed post-fire watershed conditions and determined that 
        there was a constant daily flooding threat to nearby 
        communities from summer monsoon storms;
            (5) on July 7, 2010, community meetings were held urging 
        residents to purchase flood insurance for the affected area, 
        which had not previously been designated as a flood plain;
            (6) on July 20, 2010, after nearly 2 inches of rain fell in 
        less than 1 hour, flash flooding occurred in the unincorporated 
        communities downstream from the Schultz wildfire burn area in 
        Coconino County;
            (7) widespread flooding and debris disrupted public 
        infrastructure, damaged approximately 32 homes in the 
        communities of Doney Park, Timberline, Hutchison Acres, and 
        Wupatki Trails Estates, and killed a 12-year-old girl;
            (8) affected homeowners who purchased flood insurance were 
        not eligible for coverage under the National Flood Insurance 
        Program at the time of the loss because of the statutorily 
        mandated 30-day waiting period before flood insurance coverage 
        takes effect; and
            (9) because the Schultz Fire occurred on Forest Service 
        land and has affected private property, public safety, and 
        human life, the Federal Government is obligated to provide an 
        appropriate level of disaster assistance, including Federal 
        flood insurance to homeowners.
    (b) Schultz Fire Flooding Area Task Force.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established the Schultz Fire 
        Flooding Area Task Force.
            (2) Membership.--The Task Force shall consist of members 
        who have expertise in Federal disaster management and 
        assistance, flood prevention and mitigation, forestry, wildfire 
        management and recovery, civil engineering, soil conservation, 
        or watershed protection, including representatives from--
                    (A) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
                    (B) the Corps of Engineers;
                    (C) the Forest Service;
                    (D) the Natural Resources Conservation Service;
                    (E) the United States Geological Survey;
                    (F) State and local governments;
                    (G) community-based organizations and other 
                interested parties; and
                    (H) any other entity the Administrator determines 
                to be appropriate.
            (3) Chair.--The Administrator shall be the Chair of the 
        Task Force.
            (4) Duties.--For the affected area, the Task Force shall--
                    (A) coordinate the efforts of the entities 
                represented on the Task Force to immediately implement 
                interim flood protection systems, including the 
                retention of water retention basins;
                    (B) identify existing and potential--
                            (i) funding;
                            (ii) technical assistance;
                            (iii) general investigations; and
                            (iv) construction of short-term flood 
                        protection projects; and
                    (C) carry out a detailed study of the affected area 
                to evaluate the potential of integrating projects and 
                programs of the Corps of Engineers, the Federal 
                Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of 
                Agriculture into a comprehensive, long-term flood 
                protection system for the affected area including--
                            (i) an evaluation of existing hazardous 
                        flood conditions in the affected area;
                            (ii) identification of additional risks 
                        associated with flood events in the affected 
                        area that would be equal to or greater than the 
                        July 20, 2010, flood event; and
                            (iii) a sediment and geotechnical analysis 
                        that describes soil conditions and the risk 
                        level for landslides.
            (5) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the 
        appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the 
        findings and work of the Task Force.
            (6) Application of the federal advisory committee act.--The 
        Task Force shall not be considered an advisory committee under 
        the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
    (c) Disclosure of Equal Access to Justice Act Payments.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to 
        Congress a report on the amount of fees and other expenses 
        awarded pursuant to section 2412 of title 28, United States 
        Code, and section 504 of title 5, United States Code, in 
        connection with the Jack Smith/Schultz Fuels Reduction Healthy 
        Forest Restoration Project.
            (2) Inclusions.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    (A) the name of the party seeking the award of fees 
                and other expenses;
                    (B) the name of the administrative law judge in the 
                case;
                    (C) the disposition of the application, including 
                any appeal of action taken on the application; and
                    (D) the hourly rates of attorneys and expert 
                witnesses awarded, as stated in the application.
            (3) Agency cooperation.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
        provide the Attorney General with such information as is 
        necessary for the Attorney General to carry out this section.
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