[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 661 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 661

To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to promote timely 
    emergency rehabilitation and restoration of Federal forest land 
   impacted by catastrophic events, to redirect for a 5-year-period 
  funding normally made available for land acquisition to mechanical 
forest treatment and salvage operations due to catastrophic events, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 22, 2013

   Mr. Thune introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to promote timely 
    emergency rehabilitation and restoration of Federal forest land 
   impacted by catastrophic events, to redirect for a 5-year-period 
  funding normally made available for land acquisition to mechanical 
forest treatment and salvage operations due to catastrophic events, 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. EMERGENCY FOREST REHABILITATION AND RESTORATION.

    Title VI of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 
6591) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 602. EMERGENCY FOREST REHABILITATION AND RESTORATION.

    ``(a) Definition.--In this section:
            ``(1) Catastrophic event.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `catastrophic event' 
                means any natural disaster or any fire, flood, or 
                explosion, regardless of cause, that the Secretary 
                determines has caused or has the potential to cause 
                damage of significant severity and magnitude to Federal 
                land.
                    ``(B) Natural disaster.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), a natural disaster, as determined by 
                the Secretary, may include a hurricane, tornado, 
                windstorm, snow or ice storm, rain storm, high water, 
                wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, volcanic 
                eruption, landslide, mudslide, drought, or insect or 
                disease outbreak.
            ``(2) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' has the meaning 
        given term in section 101.
    ``(b) Mechanical Forest Treatment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall implement such 
        procedures as are necessary to ensure that not less than 
        600,000 acres of Federal land each fiscal year are treated with 
        mechanical treatments intended to produce merchantable wood.
            ``(2) Funding.--The Secretary shall use to carry out 
        paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) funds described in subsection (f)(3); and
                    ``(B) any other funds made available for the 
                purposes described in paragraph (1).
    ``(c) Emergency Circumstances.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) declare that emergency circumstances exist 
                for all Federal land subject to the effects of a 
                catastrophic event, including on Federal land outside 
                urban interface areas; and
                    ``(B) as soon as practicable, take all actions 
                necessary for the rehabilitation or restoration of the 
                Federal land, with highest priority given to Federal 
                land impacted by large-scale beetle infestations.
            ``(2) Emergency alternative arrangements.--In accordance 
        with section 220.4 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations and 
        section 1506.11 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
        successor regulations), for any Federal land for which the 
        Secretary declares the existence of emergency circumstances 
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary may use emergency 
        alternative arrangements to comply with the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
            ``(3) Limitation on administrative appeals.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no administrative 
        appeal shall be allowed for any action classified as an 
        emergency alternative arrangement under paragraph (2) or a 
        categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy 
        Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) due to emergency 
        circumstances declared under paragraph (1).
    ``(d) Catastrophic Events.--
            ``(1) In general.--As soon as practicable during but not 
        later than 30 days after the conclusion of a catastrophic 
        event, the Secretary shall initiate timely salvage activities 
        on the Federal land affected by the catastrophic event so as to 
        prevent significant deterioration of timber values, development 
        of significant fire hazard, or other forest mortality that 
        would prevent the Federal land from regenerating to forest 
        within 5 years.
            ``(2) Funding.--The Secretary shall use to carry out 
        paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) funds described in subsection (f)(3); and
                    ``(B) any other funds made available for the 
                purposes described in paragraph (1).
    ``(e) Exclusion of Certain Federal Land.--This section shall not 
apply to--
            ``(1) a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 
        System;
            ``(2) Federal land on which the removal of vegetation is 
        prohibited or restricted by Act of Congress, Presidential 
        proclamation, or the applicable land management plan; or
            ``(3) a wilderness study area.
    ``(f) Limitation on Acquisition.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, except as provided in paragraph (2), beginning on the date 
        of enactment of this section and during each of the subsequent 
        5 full fiscal years, none of the funds made available to the 
        Secretary under any law may be used--
                    ``(A) to survey land for future acquisition as 
                Federal land; or
                    ``(B) to enter into discussions with non-Federal 
                landowners to identify land for acquisition as Federal 
                land.
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to the use 
        of funds--
                    ``(A) to complete land transactions underway on the 
                date of enactment of this section;
                    ``(B) to exchange Federal land for non-Federal 
                land; or
                    ``(C) to accept donations of non-Federal land as 
                Federal land.
            ``(3) Use of funds.--The Secretary shall use funds that 
        would otherwise have been used for purchase of non-Federal land 
        by the Forest Service to carry out--
                    ``(A) mechanical forest treatments described in 
                subsection (b); and
                    ``(B) salvage activities described in subsection 
                (d).''.
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