116 S1764 RS: Western Wildfire Support Act of 2023
U.S. Senate
2024-11-21
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.Short title; table of contents(a)This Act may be cited as the Western Wildfire Support Act of 2023
.(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.Sec. 2. Definitions.TITLE I—PreparationSec. 101. Firefighting accounts.Sec. 102. Reimbursement for wildfires caused by military training.Sec. 103. Strategic wildland fire management planning.Sec. 104. Accounts to assist communities in planning and preparing for wildfires.Sec. 105. Community support during disaster response.TITLE II—Wildfire detection and suppression supportSec. 201. Wildfire detection equipment.Sec. 202. Grant program for slip-on tank units.Sec. 203. Assistance to States for operation of air tankers.Sec. 204. Research and development of unmanned aircraft system fire applications.Sec. 205. Study on effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression.Sec. 206. Study on wildfire detection equipment and integration of artificial intelligence technologies.TITLE III—Post-fire recovery supportSec. 301. Funding for online guides for post-fire assistance.Sec. 302. Long-Term Burned Area Recovery account.Sec. 303. Prize for wildfire-related invasive species reduction.2.In this Act: (1)The term congressional committees means—(A)the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and(B)the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.(2)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)units 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)land in the National Forest System. (3)(A)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)).(B)The term National Forest System does not include—(i)the national grasslands and land utilization projects administered under title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); or(ii)National Forest System land east of the 100th meridian. (4)The term Secretaries means—(A)the Secretary of the Interior; and(B)the Secretary of Agriculture. (5)The term Secretary concerned means—(A)the Secretary of the Interior, in the case of Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior; and(B)the Secretary of Agriculture, in the case of Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture.<enum>I</enum><header>Preparation</header><section id="idbfa1537094154a1287b62b2333b867b6"><enum>101.</enum><header>Firefighting accounts</header><subsection id="id96ff312837e140b0a42b02c5220409a1"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Establishment of accounts</header><text>There are established in the Treasury of the United States the following accounts:</text><paragraph id="idf5b38601b03c4bff9fc769615307135b"><enum>(1)</enum><text>The Firefighting Operations account for the Department of Agriculture.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idd98bf2517d8f431c9b3a46163fd1fdb7"><enum>(2)</enum><text>The Firefighting Operations account for the Department of the Interior.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id115c645706f5484f9cd5f20a595a31e1"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Budget activities within accounts</header><text>The following activities shall be specified for funding within each Firefighting Operations account established by subsection (a):</text><paragraph id="id788f36b7a92547238d11eb694df3b1d3"><enum>(1)</enum><text>Ground-based firefighting operations.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id6f73d25900f74e30850364f9c41a2f69"><enum>(2)</enum><text>Aircraft use in firefighting operations.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id18b47b636a484a1ca5e7a2bcf342d32e"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Authorization of appropriations</header><paragraph id="idf07aa8396de2458cbb941a5e4eab1770"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Ground-based firefighting operations</header><subparagraph id="id7f43de763a81464c85fac1350dcd5288"><enum>(A)</enum><header>Department of Agriculture</header><text>There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter to the account established by subsection (a)(1) not more than $3,000,000,000 for ground-based firefighting operations.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idabfd52c5e5454dd281d06602c74c5332"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Department of the Interior</header><text>There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter to the account established by subsection (a)(2) not more than $1,000,000,000 for ground-based firefighting operations.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id7eff2d4a40cd454097b7df74a377a38b"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Aircraft use in firefighting operations</header><text>There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter to the accounts established by subsection (a), a total amount of not more than $500,000,000 for aircraft use in firefighting operations.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idf67983e3b9b14c9a9104257540da74b8"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Presidential budget requests</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">For fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, each Secretary concerned shall submit through the budget request of the President and in accordance with subsection (c), a request for amounts in the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account of the Secretary concerned to carry out the activities described in subsection (e).</text></subsection><subsection id="id3546f2cb5e3144e8aca5bb9dd289cad2"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Authorized activities</header><paragraph id="id56d22b6fb4924cd7bf6b4b06da87ed68"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Secretaries shall use amounts provided to the respective accounts established under subsection (a) as follows:</text><subparagraph id="id093bf97e049748e08fb6cb33eced67bd"><enum>(A)</enum><text>The Secretary of Agriculture shall use amounts appropriated under subsection (c)(1)(A) to carry out management activities for active wildfires through the Forest Service, except that none of the amounts may be used for the operation of aircraft.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id6a2add93c4d94fe4b97cabf6d9ed04f3"><enum>(B)</enum><text>The Secretary of the Interior shall use amounts appropriated under subsection (c)(1)(B) to carry out management activities for active wildfires, except that none of the amounts may be used for the operation of aircraft.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0c48a298e96b4907ae88cd4c4bd0f59f"><enum>(C)</enum><text>The Secretary concerned shall use amounts appropriated under subsection (c)(2) to acquire, by contract or purchase, and use aircraft, including unmanned aerial systems, for operations relating to wildland fires.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id747dd91546ef4107a8a86223546aaf90"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Limitation</header><text>The Secretary concerned shall not use to carry out any activity authorized by paragraph (1)(C) amounts appropriated to accounts of the Secretary concerned other than amounts in the accounts established by subsection (a) specified for activities described in subsection (b)(2).</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id5696939adec0481abbebda18c603eb99"><enum>(f)</enum><header>Accounting reports</header><paragraph id="id651f69b5289041bc8ac9ed9f008b204b"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Each Secretary concerned shall submit to the congressional committees monthly accounting reports regarding the amounts that have been obligated and expended under this section during the preceding month of the applicable fiscal year.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id02a03a92331547e6abda33d352834c6a"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Inclusions</header><text>Each report under paragraph (1) shall include a description of, with respect to the period covered by the report—</text><subparagraph id="id11c25fc8bedc41738cd00a1d4fb38af7"><enum>(A)</enum><text>Federal ground-based equipment costs;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id172b0afc21284e678148f318cd466f43"><enum>(B)</enum><text>Federal aircraft use costs;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idfbf237559d55434aa28a8b70bcb6f0b9"><enum>(C)</enum><text>Federal personnel costs;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id79c2cf80b50444d4879141c5f7cf7dba"><enum>(D)</enum><text>on-incident and off-incident support costs; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id916d46354eeb4f7b9d93cd7a0be6dfcb"><enum>(E)</enum><text>funding allocated from the Wildland Fire Management account of the Secretary concerned to pay for administrative costs.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id1dff2cef533c444c8c0fe8e09c118725"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Requirements</header><text>Each report under paragraph (1) shall be prepared in accordance with applicable national fire plan reporting procedures.</text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="id91B59D451368418D9D71315EBED1A719"><enum>102.</enum><header>Reimbursement for wildfires caused by military training</header><subsection id="id867B925464184BAB841B56AB62DEE0EB"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Reimbursement required</header><text>The Secretary of Defense shall, on application by a State or Federal agency, reimburse the State or Federal agency for the reasonable costs of the State or Federal agency for services provided in connection with fire suppression as a result of a fire caused by military training or other actions carried out by the Armed Forces or employees of the Department of Defense.</text></subsection><subsection id="id2415FE9B54A9460DB7460CA5D127166B"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Limitation</header><text>Services reimbursable under subsection (a) shall be limited to services proximately related to the fire for which reimbursement is sought.</text></subsection><subsection id="id6F86A7FF9C334379B38398A6C053973C"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Application</header><text>Each application from a State or Federal agency for reimbursement for costs under subsection (a) shall provide an itemized request of the services covered by the application, including the costs of the services.</text></subsection><subsection commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idAF95A19793FF485CB6E4954C6FAF5E61"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Funds</header><text>Reimbursements under subsection (a) shall be made from amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Defense for operation and maintenance. </text></subsection></section><section section-type="subsequent-section" id="idD6EC54EDC82D4871AFCD5A2B79A470F2"><enum>103.</enum><header>Strategic wildland fire management planning</header><subsection id="idc9c5174a0754454b81eb4e08820c4f7d"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Not later than September 30, 2026, the Secretary concerned shall, in accordance with this section, establish a series of spatial fire management plans.</text></subsection><subsection id="id64f0e81ea4c64a2bb7e4c2ff71c18d7d"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Use of existing plans</header><text>To comply with this section, the Secretary concerned may use a fire management plan in existence on the date of enactment of this Act.</text></subsection><subsection id="id2e58be2976f74103b688a6b398fa2257"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Updates</header><text>To be valid, a spatial fire management plan established under this section shall not be in use for longer than the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the plan is established.</text></subsection><subsection id="id031d419021ac462e8f384d856dc95350"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Sub-Unit plans</header><text>The Secretary concerned shall establish a spatial fire management plan for each unit of Federal land with more than 10 acres of burnable vegetation under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned.</text></subsection><subsection id="id5f8b04b1af824536bab99c77f4815792"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Contents</header><text>For each spatial fire management plan established under this section, the Secretary concerned shall—</text><paragraph id="id8d788cd5aef948319e23a103889e9856"><enum>(1)</enum><text>base the plans on a landscape-scale risk assessment that includes—</text><subparagraph id="ida4f79ad5f7034def968407f1a5c34cea"><enum>(A)</enum><text>risks to firefighters;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id86612d82b0bb4836be3519b89eac1015"><enum>(B)</enum><text>risks to communities;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idfbf3c8275d37420695fdea652292a287"><enum>(C)</enum><text>risks to highly valuable resources; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idb98a21f5db9b426b977547f4a2be09b7"><enum>(D)</enum><text>other relevant considerations determined by the Secretary concerned;</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id0c980ebeb2fd42ec95fc13a336db3867"><enum>(2)</enum><text>include direction, represented in spatial form, from land management plans and resource management plans;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id381e730452dd41ebbf5575223ad1207f"><enum>(3)</enum><text>in coordination with States, delineate potential wildland fire operational delineations that—</text><subparagraph id="idffff6bb161a4448fa93b92f74e14094f"><enum>(A)</enum><text>identify potential control locations; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id220706d3dd5c40afa3d45d2b302233dc"><enum>(B)</enum><text>specify the places in which firefighters will not be sent because of the presence of unacceptable risk, including areas determined by the Secretary concerned as—</text><clause id="id0b6657553c38410393c2a80fb7cb9f46"><enum>(i)</enum><text>exceeding a certain slope;</text></clause><clause id="id2b8722448a4c4ac591a7b93eeae85b4f"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>containing too high of a volume of hazardous fuels, under certain weather conditions; or</text></clause><clause id="idfc833df71c7049a0a8a946e66bf5dcae"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>containing other known hazards;</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id6b6d2671b6b142a492b5a28ceae9cd79"><enum>(4)</enum><text>include a determination of average severe fire weather for the plan area;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idd6fad5c51eae4ade9b23d5c0a1a4885a"><enum>(5)</enum><text>include prefire planning provisions;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idfb5dabbcc7f040d49ec2cc47a4a97a7a"><enum>(6)</enum><text>include a plan for postfire activities that—</text><subparagraph id="idf7ba62a7aad14658badf4dbf4b929e3f"><enum>(A)</enum><text>would better enable a Burned Area Emergency Response Team working on a large fire incident to address emergency stabilization and erosion quickly; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id60e402dc98704291a6684cafeb7d498f"><enum>(B)</enum><text>specifies ways in which the Burned Area Emergency Response Team would seek to prevent the proliferation of invasive species in working on the large fire incident; and</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id0f73d86b29c1422286e039716a882e5c"><enum>(7)</enum><text>include, at a minimum, any other requirement determined to be necessary by the Secretary concerned.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id4c3d6383612c4e89ac9e9591bc2385a8"><enum>(f)</enum><header>Consistency with management plans</header><text>The spatial fire management plans established under this section shall be consistent with the fire management objectives and land management objectives in the applicable land management plan or resource management plan.</text></subsection><subsection id="id00ee01fa0b3b4ca3a3a355864e986895"><enum>(g)</enum><header>Revisions to land management plans and resource management plans</header><text>A revision to a land management plan or resource management plan shall consider fire ecology and fire management in a manner that facilitates the issuance of direction for an incident response.</text></subsection><subsection id="idc73ff855112a44c68f8939aad215a717"><enum>(h)</enum><header>Engagement during land management planning</header><text>A supervisory employee of the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture that is funded through a Firefighting Operations account established under section 101 shall participate directly in the creation or revision of an applicable land management plan or resource management plan to incorporate an assessment, protocol, or plan developed under this Act into the planning process.</text></subsection></section><section id="ideb78255e77384a378ed42e837a159dba"><enum>104.</enum><header>Accounts to assist communities in planning and preparing for wildfires</header><subsection id="ideb31f52a0fe34027ad74fea25ad90486"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Establishment of accounts</header><text>There are established in the Treasury of the United States the following accounts:</text><paragraph id="id9d64f09996464096b19d75d46639327d"><enum>(1)</enum><text>The Community-Supported Land-Use Planning Assistance account for the Department of Agriculture.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idc20a57228eb34139b3fc661b21f26ef8"><enum>(2)</enum><text>The Community-Supported Land-Use Planning Assistance account for the Department of the Interior.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id5fb083646cf547af8fb063603ce1568d"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Budget activities within accounts</header><text>The following activities shall be specified for funding within each Community-Supported Land-Use Planning Assistance account established by subsection (a):</text><paragraph id="idb567bde4471c46cb9db1b2eae033bc8e"><enum>(1)</enum><text>The Firewise Program operated by the National Fire Protection Association.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="ida1cc5078a9c04d20b02b35c09d735019"><enum>(2)</enum><text>Community wildfire protection programs.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idc1c3e9cc35e140f6a056f93c19fc43e7"><enum>(3)</enum><text>The Fire-Adapted Communities Learning Network.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idc4b21655a8f545dfbe5bde6f87e45ed8"><enum>(4)</enum><text>Vegetation management by communities.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id4f444ff713934dacbf1784129846e51b"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Authorization of appropriations</header><text>There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter for the accounts established by subsection (a) such sums as are necessary to carry out this section, not to exceed $200,000,000.</text></subsection><subsection id="id2000a85fba674234aaf5ea8bbfd09ac5"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Presidential budget requests</header><text>For fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, each Secretary concerned shall submit through the budget request of the President and in accordance with subsection (c), a request for amounts in the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account of the Secretary concerned to carry out the activities described in subsection (b).</text></subsection><subsection id="idd9c31a0c796e4be7b981df42a40b4786"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Authorized activities</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The Secretary concerned shall use amounts in the accounts established by subsection (a) as follows:</text><paragraph id="idb1e4ac16b80045b6a88dab549a5f4c85"><enum>(1)</enum><text>With respect to amounts appropriated for the activity described in subsection (b)(1), the Secretary concerned may—</text><subparagraph id="idaf79d485207f4d2fad8db1ac09a0bf75"><enum>(A)</enum><text>cosponsor the Firewise Program; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id37669c7410884f2099c4529a27771591"><enum>(B)</enum><text>support the expansion of the Firewise Communities/USA Recognition Program to additional at-risk communities.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idafc0ef2ddaad45eaaea94f9ce7188a38"><enum>(2)</enum><text>With respect to amounts appropriated for the activity described in subsection (b)(2), the Secretary concerned may provide assistance to at-risk communities to establish and revise—</text><subparagraph id="id9dd14646f62c4bd495768fa7aedcef75"><enum>(A)</enum><text>a community wildfire protection plan (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/6511">16 U.S.C. 6511</external-xref>)); or</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id942a5bda3d204b3eae995891446bb1f8"><enum>(B)</enum><text>a community evacuation plan.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id12c5fa88aa1d46f1bb736369a57c612b"><enum>(3)</enum><text>With respect to amounts appropriated for the activity described in subsection (b)(3), the Secretary concerned shall establish a small grant program to address local hazard reduction on Federal, State, or private land, subject to the conditions that—</text><subparagraph id="id3ccec599dc3f4b189237b9f3cb73a302"><enum>(A)</enum><text>a grant provided under the program—</text><clause id="id469cb6732fcb404080f43e6283970427"><enum>(i)</enum><text>may be awarded to an organization in an at-risk community to address, in a sole instance, a hazardous fuel in a specific location, including piling and burning, and implementing a prescribed fire on private land;</text></clause><clause id="id76cb1c7d57014a56a553f7ec07d686a5"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>shall not exceed $20,000; and</text></clause><clause id="ida61eee8d132b45ab9f2191e1cf5a921b"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>shall require cost-sharing assistance in an amount equal to not less than 10 percent of the amount of the grant;</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id33b6a0942d9c40178033a16193db3948"><enum>(B)</enum><text>the work identified for funding under the grant shall be accomplished by a team composed of, at a minimum—</text><clause id="id1cb204b258d145c889d2ba41d588cbd7"><enum>(i)</enum><text>a private citizen;</text></clause><clause id="id2da51cd78bd64cd9b8d6b686634ec878"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>a representative of a nonprofit organization; and</text></clause><clause id="ida8c58d23f00f48bc9e4711fa8326d24a"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>a local fire department, including a volunteer fire department;</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id4c90804693ed4476b947465e69f3f957"><enum>(C)</enum><text>to be eligible for a grant under the program, a strategic plan outlining the means by which the applicant will address a hazardous fuel shall be submitted to the Secretary concerned; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id58785cab322e4a1c8a75b42f4378ce53"><enum>(D)</enum><text>on completion of a grant project, the grant recipient shall—</text><clause id="id53cd232850d247eb90548e5e99ecb51a"><enum>(i)</enum><text>submit to the Secretary concerned a report; and</text></clause><clause id="idf48eb9f80acd42aea8acc581428070de"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>participate in training another grant recipient during the following fiscal year.</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id9f749f548f6b4e3a9daf9f7c5a0da461"><enum>(4)</enum><text>With respect to amounts appropriated for the activity described in subsection (b)(4), the Secretary concerned may provide cost-sharing assistance for the establishment and operation of a local program in an at-risk community to assist homeowners in the disposal of brush and slash generated by hazard reduction activities. </text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="idf70d3766636e494d905e3d58b13016ab"><enum>105.</enum><header>Community support during disaster response</header><subsection id="id2f3aaaabde9a419999eb869097f29c89"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Secretaries shall establish a program to train and certify a citizen who wishes to be able to volunteer to assist the Secretaries during a wildland fire incident.</text></subsection><subsection id="idee9654130af34d5086cc2e58bfa6daa8"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Service</header><paragraph id="id11f3dc01ff7e4be786e87a41ff734791"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Secretaries shall establish several categories of service for each manner in which a volunteer certified under this section may provide assistance.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idb6755fbe57784dc2a7911482624724f2"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Direct suppression of wildland fires</header><text>No volunteer certified under this section may engage in an operation to directly suppress a wildland fire.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id144b4c297eed4a4e8e51f59c58cc4376"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Direction</header><text>A volunteer under this section shall—</text><subparagraph id="id85b333c4ccf645bf8f80cdb23ea16a75"><enum>(A)</enum><text>report to a designee of an incident commander prior to providing any assistance on a wildland fire; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id111af8bcbae14864b9c4532d1454aaf2"><enum>(B)</enum><text>operate continuously under the direction of the designee while providing assistance on a wildland fire.</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id0e12d201d7d34580929f45b12699b9ab"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Certification</header><paragraph id="idbc3a230181d846ee92b932824f9c1878"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Criteria</header><subparagraph id="idf85e878fc9884c69a480e56ea5844235"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Secretaries shall certify volunteers to provide assistance for each category of service established under subsection (b).</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id66c49950ee6d455d87247b22a0d1b542"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Establishment of criteria</header><text>The Secretaries shall establish criteria for a volunteer to be certified for each category of service.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id5e6fb2187b0c44c0a75ff567750cdfee"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Attendance</header><text>Attendance at training conducted under paragraph (2) shall be 1 of the criteria established under subparagraph (B).</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ida3edca46d12444c99d3dc7444b45e80f"><enum>(D)</enum><header>Assessment</header><text>The Secretaries shall assess the knowledge, skills, or abilities, of a person prior to certifying a person to become a volunteer.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id8e8fe078da6e415d94b5b3e72c2a8583"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Training</header><subparagraph id="id302e1986a9804ff384733edaa0f9f57a"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Secretaries shall regularly conduct training for citizens who desire to be certified as volunteers.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0535af3dfe5a4d60894dfa3d1c0cf266"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Content</header><text>The training shall include, at a minimum, a safety component in an effort to minimize inherent threats to volunteers and maximize the safety of a volunteer, to the maximum extent practicable, as a volunteer provides assistance on a wildland fire.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id8f4d3b6f6cfb473d8c271216a69f3359"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Frequency</header><text>The Secretaries shall offer, at a minimum, 1 training session in each State with significant wildfire risk, not less than every 2 years.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id9a37a57818b14498ad50972bba29f046"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Identification</header><subparagraph id="id1fc544aa04a64e56980f116780b8b066"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In general</header><text>On the certification of a volunteer, the Secretary concerned shall provide to the volunteer a means of identification as a volunteer.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idf061c087f4ed46d4954c1927d54e2205"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Display</header><text>A volunteer certified under this section shall display, continuously while assisting in a wildland fire, the means of identification. </text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection></section><enum>II</enum><header>Wildfire detection and suppression support</header><section id="idef2b7c6ba40842d3affa59cb0b7fb64f"><enum>201.</enum><header>Wildfire detection equipment</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">To the extent practicable, the Secretary concerned shall—</text><paragraph id="id8f0fa7fbb4db44058c86548aef68be2c"><enum>(1)</enum><text>expedite the placement of wildfire detection equipment, such as sensors, cameras, and other relevant equipment, in areas at risk of wildfire;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id4c6ec8c54e6e47f58a39ab7a2daf8492"><enum>(2)</enum><text>expand the use of satellite data to assist wildfire response; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id172ebe5697c2453f82c09a68f5093b21"><enum>(3)</enum><text>expedite any permitting required by the Secretary concerned for the installation, maintenance, or removal of wildfire detection equipment.</text></paragraph></section><section id="idb0bab1f8653e43899db6fa543c41164f"><enum>202.</enum><header>Grant program for slip-on tank units</header><subsection id="id6662bea56c7547abaf2ec0b166a26ae9"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Secretaries shall establish a program to award to an eligible State or unit of local government each year grants to acquire slip-on tank and pump units (referred to in this section as <term>slip-on units</term>) for a surge capacity of resources for fire suppression.</text></subsection><subsection id="id7d9060e44f5246d48ac5a82f1c7d1add"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Eligibility</header><paragraph id="id1a42a18c60614bea85bab55eb32869a3"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a State or unit of local government shall—</text><subparagraph id="id425382e8edde400897ef8c8b9841bc0c"><enum>(A)</enum><text>submit an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretaries may require; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id222de4b72984460aa0557fdfd41a8d7b"><enum>(B)</enum><text>contribute non-Federal funds in accordance with paragraph (2).</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="iddd705e5f01b441d593698c6807d21541"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Cost-share requirements</header><text>The non-Federal share of the cost of acquiring slip-on units using a grant under this section shall be not less than 25 percent.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id9d1e05d1f2e04f498dd72599856671e0"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Use of funds</header><paragraph id="id1390aa34fea54972a57367c5184fcb42"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Grants awarded under this section shall be used only for the acquisition of not fewer than 30 slip-on units.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id89088691baee487fab3bd357932a8737"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Restrictions</header><text>A recipient of a grant under this section—</text><subparagraph id="id50d6bc8b0dcf491db73b0be5f501da73"><enum>(A)</enum><text>shall be responsible for the cost of the maintenance and use of the slip-on units; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id4a7c63d1c4704e59aecdb329934b8b60"><enum>(B)</enum><text>may not use grant funds for a cost described in subparagraph (A).</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id9ce45026dbea4918b7dd53b12baf8adb"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Requirements for operation of slip-On units</header><text>A recipient of a grant under this section shall—</text><paragraph id="iddd842820346844508376ef2903cc70be"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in maintaining and storing the slip-on units—</text><subparagraph id="ide7732ddb7755463b99a629aac5cac93e"><enum>(A)</enum><text>store and mount a slip-on unit on a vehicle only during—</text><clause id="id368e8afe59a84271a68bf1c2d9cfbb6f"><enum>(i)</enum><text>a period of extreme fire danger; or</text></clause><clause id="ide7aaee3018c14b9aa8cf17b3fb7729a2"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>an active wildland fire;</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id96b6499213b14f83aa5b8ac95aadf9ce"><enum>(B)</enum><text>designate a vehicle and personnel to be used with each slip-on unit;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id9cc02d774b764b2bab67a625ab221d88"><enum>(C)</enum><text>make any necessary modification to a designated vehicle to ensure compatibility with the use of the slip-on unit;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id121f46514c974b638bef3537fe6af9b0"><enum>(D)</enum><text>train designated personnel to use the slip-on unit;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id65c013214f124762b344da820ff22483"><enum>(E)</enum><text>ensure designated personnel possess elementary wildland fire management skills, including post-fire-front structure-protection tactics; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idcd5bf20481f940e29fdb73133939106e"><enum>(F)</enum><text>maintain each slip-on unit in good, usable condition for a period of not fewer than 20 years;</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id2c22b619170946288e11399fe812bb79"><enum>(2)</enum><text>during a large, active wildland fire—</text><subparagraph id="idee552be9020d4b62bdde57f2e9574131"><enum>(A)</enum><text>staff each designated vehicle equipped with a slip-on unit with—</text><clause id="idd992ce870641464ebc76d4ac6f82835a"><enum>(i)</enum><text>a person designated under paragraph (1)(B); and</text></clause><clause id="id393b7c94d6694fb1aff5b830586527b8"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>a trained firefighter, regardless of whether the trained firefighter is paid, a volunteer, or off-duty but paid;</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idcc0a08ef6bd64e16900ad69d319d3198"><enum>(B)</enum><text>organize each designated vehicle equipped with a slip-on unit into a team with other designated vehicles under the direction of a qualified task force leader; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id58d55f5e24fb48e38fc4579d6a06dc64"><enum>(C)</enum><text>use each designated vehicle equipped with a slip-on unit primarily for the purpose of following behind the wildland fire front—</text><clause id="id3503469e88aa456596d4a932d9788b2f"><enum>(i)</enum><text>to prevent homes from igniting; and</text></clause><clause id="idca93ccf947cb4a5ca45bd888c54616ce"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>to alert fire engines of structures that have ignited; and</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id2f0042a0388a47ea8f8e37fc0902c888"><enum>(3)</enum><text>comply with any other requirements determined to be necessary by the Secretaries, including any minimum requirements for a slip-on unit and any additional required equipment. </text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="id63bac76ee1e2450c8f9a44c1d1fbe6e1"><enum>203.</enum><header>Assistance to States for operation of air tankers</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Secretary concerned may provide funding to States to enable States to operate not more than 50 single-engine air tankers if—</text><paragraph id="id55a5b02d1fbc437cb6cf4c77e65b5590"><enum>(1)</enum><text>the single-engine air tanker is government-owned and contractor-operated or government-owned and government-operated;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="ideeeb9997e3f042edaec50ca2b4d5e695"><enum>(2)</enum><text>a State receiving funding for a single-engine air tanker under this section shares the cost with the Secretary of the acquisition and operation of the aircraft; and</text></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id0c68f50c6abf449ea9100578ef77cb9d"><enum>(3)</enum><text>the single-engine air tanker—</text><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idC5B6D06EA9B745E3810759149173CDCB"><enum>(A)</enum><text>shall be used for initial attack; and </text></subparagraph><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idBFCCE9046791450389AB37DCA06898F1"><enum>(B)</enum><text>shall not be used for large fire aviation support. </text></subparagraph></paragraph></section><section id="idda51e79f847e4bc8986050be17c1b754"><enum>204.</enum><header>Research and development of unmanned aircraft system fire applications</header><subsection id="id1c86b9da09994be59fb57030b46fd35e"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Definitions</header><text>In this section:</text><paragraph id="id6ebd4e80a007403eb8cb7ad40d6fac03"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Covered unmanned aircraft test range</header><text>The term <term>covered unmanned aircraft test range</term> means a test range that is approved of or designated by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration for the testing of unmanned aircraft systems, as required under section 44803 of title 49, United States Code. </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id2de054c75380472293beb93fae6a93eb"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Unmanned aircraft system</header><text>The term <term>unmanned aircraft system</term> means an unmanned aircraft and associated elements (including communication links and the components that control the unmanned aircraft) that are required for the operator to operate safely and efficiently in the national airspace system of the Federal Aviation Administration.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id93ab355762844e3fa1016851074e49e6"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Joint fire science program</header><text>The Secretary of the Interior shall, acting through the Joint Fire Science Program, work with covered unmanned aircraft test ranges to carry out research and development of unmanned aircraft system fire applications.</text></subsection><subsection id="id5f07d74f76e94a4cbadf168376e42d2e"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Authorization of appropriations</header><text>There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.</text></subsection></section><section id="id69254DA7F8F34A92A6E06E3D00DDB517"><enum>205.</enum><header>Study on effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression</header><subsection id="idE546E9372AAA493D8D6B8C80B5935CA5"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Definitions</header><text>In this section:</text><paragraph id="idECC3B5AD4FC740D1AEED6C03BEC8F7FF"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Drone</header><text>The term <term>drone</term> means an unmanned aircraft system owned by a private individual or entity.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id3006FE0ADFDA4D5F97CE098A67AC004B"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Drone incursion</header><text>The term <term>drone incursion</term> means the operation of a drone within any airspace for which the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a temporary flight restriction because of a wildfire.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idAB168AB9E8F54A3CABD85431DC92C30F"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Secretary</header><text>The term <term>Secretary</term> means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id36385A2EB9394550A734F8ABD81D95F5"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Study required</header><text>The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall conduct a study on the effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression with respect to land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture.</text></subsection><subsection id="idBE6BA7A3B8C340FE86B2A6A1D91E3AA8"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Study contents</header><text>In conducting the study required under subsection (b), the Secretary shall—</text><paragraph id="id085B146E039443B1AF8B2EC0A2D1B8C3"><enum>(1)</enum><text>determine, for each of the 5 most recent calendar years—</text><subparagraph id="id014245FC9B87455CACFD1DB411F65D02"><enum>(A)</enum><text>the number of occurrences in which a drone incursion interfered with wildfire suppression; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idDF6CD7FD6625494387610371E1082EEF"><enum>(B)</enum><text>the effect of each occurrence described in subparagraph (A) on—</text><clause id="idFAEA913FD9944AACAB684E0CE54693CD"><enum>(i)</enum><text>the length of time required to achieve complete suppression;</text></clause><clause id="idD0CED09BCCB847C2AC16746754FC96B3"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>the effectiveness of aerial firefighting responses; and</text></clause><clause id="id4B8CF1B16A3F42C18E8D1725D7DFBF26"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>the amounts expended by the Federal Government; and</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id4A2A5BB43FD34522956D68E609C7B646"><enum>(2)</enum><text>evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of various actions to prevent drone incursions, including—</text><subparagraph id="idF647CB8F64D8460C875835C98FEA329F"><enum>(A)</enum><text>the use of reasonable force to disable, damage, or destroy a drone;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0CB6E87C051F46A68DA2B8A01A6A7235"><enum>(B)</enum><text>the seizure of a drone, including seizure with a net device; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idE2E6D03E0BF54A6F9A0CA3A636FA87E2"><enum>(C)</enum><text>the dissemination of educational materials relating to the effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression.</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idFD0BD0E56F9745E09FB203CD45FABC81"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Report</header><text>Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing—</text><paragraph id="id008665B8B96A4B38B7ECC9B7098BA833"><enum>(1)</enum><text>the findings of the study required under subsection (b); and</text></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idC591D881FC4845C7932B3B22581678E7"><enum>(2)</enum><text>any recommendations of the Secretary relating to those findings. </text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="id0cea417c784648eaab84cdd989d4c197"><enum>206.</enum><header>Study on wildfire detection equipment and integration of artificial intelligence technologies</header><subsection id="idE25EA526118E489C9EB0FD355FE3A0A7"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The Secretaries shall conduct a study on—</text><paragraph id="idECF1592CC2504877A4C38BE4A7229949"><enum>(1)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the effectiveness and limitations on the deployment and application of each wildfire detection equipment technology with respect to detection, confirmation, geolocation, predictability of wildfire spread, suppression resource management, post-fire forensics, and surface rehabilitation;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id6E62C02B5C124CD1977B006D44EFB38B"><enum>(2)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">how each technology described in paragraph (1), with proper and timely deployment and use, can provide for the most effective and efficient means of dealing with the threat and the reality of wildland fires;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id6E8548B7055348578A9F2695B062D017"><enum>(3)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the integration of artificial intelligence with real-time imagery and weather data provided by wildfire detection equipment technology; and </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id2645520614C849D98C68160A8F9C76CD"><enum>(4)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">how the integration of artificial intelligence described in paragraph (3) can enhance the value of each wildfire detection equipment technology, individually and collectively.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection commented="no" id="id68684870ACB846B08A56201FF0CA4C03"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Submission and public availability</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to the congressional committees and make publicly available the results of the study conducted under subsection (a).</text></subsection></section><enum>III</enum><header>Post-fire recovery support</header><section id="id9bf855bb73c54b09934213bf4586f48e"><enum>301.</enum><header>Funding for online guides for post-fire assistance</header><subsection id="id9e369eb47583482290ccd2130e71cc89"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Use of services of other agencies</header><text>Section 201(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/42/5131">42 U.S.C. 5131(a)</external-xref>) is amended—</text><paragraph id="idea614ad6808c46898c14d80b42d50825"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting <quote>; and</quote>; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id848b553e0a9547cb9358349e4075836e"><enum>(2)</enum><text>by adding at the end the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="ideebffe62c349493aab75a75ed1a2f10a" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSEG00"><paragraph id="idce35469be2fe4223bebe2f26180ecb4f"><enum>(8)</enum><text>post-disaster assistance.</text></paragraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id429757ca95e040ab9bf4583336d29af0"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Funding for online guides for assistance</header><text>Section 201 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/42/5131">42 U.S.C. 5131</external-xref>) is amended by adding at the end the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idd3d38c73fa1842b289bb2e1912a1848a" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSEG00"><subsection id="idfa29ce6e60d14647a8d285d5af5f3df8"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Funding for online guides for assistance</header><paragraph id="id4ac8cfb7f756446f8db8bd854afb15dd"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may enter into a cooperative agreement to provide funding to a State agency established under subsection (c) to establish and operate a website to provide information relating to post-fire recovery funding and resources to a community or an individual impacted by a wildland fire.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="iddd431b429efb478ab8bc4bd789b31ee2"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Management</header><text>A website created under this subsection shall be—</text><subparagraph id="id746079266f3b4eea8c71ef8900e5c3da"><enum>(A)</enum><text>managed by the State agency; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idce2c1a47153f4233a3178c90819439e6"><enum>(B)</enum><text>suitable for the residents of the State of the State agency.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idfa929aede5c74f5a9dda8226e3f324f3"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Content</header><text>The Administrator may enter into a cooperative agreement to establish a website under this subsection only to provide 1 or more of the following:</text><subparagraph id="id64bd16885ae743378af288520b0f424e"><enum>(A)</enum><text>A list of Federal, State, and local sources of post-fire recovery funding or assistance that may be available to a community after a wildfire.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idd2afb474a7b94335a92960587910a8e4"><enum>(B)</enum><text>A list of Federal, State, and local sources of post-fire recovery funding or assistance that may be available to an individual impacted by a wildfire.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ideec47060b86b4fd9bd3492620095fea8"><enum>(C)</enum><text>A technical guide that lists and explains the costs and benefits of alternatives available to a community to mitigate the impacts of wildfire and prepare for potential flooding.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id460de82cf12f42c8bde7a040629885c8"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Cooperation</header><text>A State agency that enters into a cooperative agreement under this subsection shall cooperate with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in developing a website under this subsection.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id9241f0683db34063b3455430aeae949d"><enum>(5)</enum><header>Updates</header><text>A State agency that receives funding to establish a website under this subsection shall update the website not less than once every 6 years.</text></paragraph></subsection><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subsection></section><section id="idc3b3779cdbc24a95b462955e0ff135c3"><enum>302.</enum><header>Long-Term Burned Area Recovery account</header><subsection id="id9b688695cfcb4fbab00b42332b322050"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Establishment of account</header><text>There is established in the Treasury of the United States the Long-Term Burned Area Recovery account for the Department of Agriculture.</text></subsection><subsection id="id81c2b7b427354d93a7f165ded4ec20ec"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Authorization of appropriations</header><text>There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter for the account established by subsection (a) such sums as are necessary to carry out the activities described in subsection (d), not to exceed $100,000,000.</text></subsection><subsection id="idda67742aeb574201ad2acb77097750ab"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Presidential budget requests</header><text>For fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit through the budget request of the President and in accordance with subsection (b), a request for amounts in the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account to carry out the activities described in subsection (d).</text></subsection><subsection id="id4654c7ff96de467889ec59b5b58d39c1"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Authorized activities</header><text>The Secretary of Agriculture shall use amounts in the account established by subsection (a) for rehabilitation projects—</text><paragraph id="id8ac07f2b94144d7ea74049a9e8c6ab9b"><enum>(1)</enum><text>that begin not earlier than 1 year after the date on which the wildfire was contained;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idc415296199f04b33a183a4014cde9ae4"><enum>(2)</enum><text>that are—</text><subparagraph id="id84c1e48e80b148b2bf29a0d1ca6298bc"><enum>(A)</enum><text>scheduled to be completed not later than 3 years after the date on which the wildfire was contained; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id6153f55cd8e946c4b533655a86450f55"><enum>(B)</enum><text>located at sites impacted by wildfire on non-Federal or Federal land;</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id6ab8ba7b692345059dd673dc6b247c85"><enum>(3)</enum><text>that restore the functions of an ecosystem or protect life or property; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="ida791f0d5f13b43eb8686a32f594c771a"><enum>(4)</enum><text>not less than 10 percent of the total costs of which are paid for with non-Federal funds.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id82ea76b1cfb14960a8dd5f957c2309ee"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Prioritization of funding</header><text>The Secretary of Agriculture shall prioritize, on a nationwide basis, projects for which funding requests are submitted under this section, based on—</text><paragraph id="id6512ec00d6e4497587e0a28b7cb0d229"><enum>(1)</enum><text>downstream effects on water resources; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idb0d32b3820a7491fba4c4ed37bbed036"><enum>(2)</enum><text>public safety.</text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="id9b1cf5561fbf4680aadf9c87beee3d46"><enum>303.</enum><header>Prize for wildfire-related invasive species reduction</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Section 7001(d) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/742b">16 U.S.C. 742b</external-xref> note; <external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/116/9">Public Law 116–9</external-xref>) is amended—</text><paragraph id="idb2fe03e38b444bbb925127971c87b4ff"><enum>(1)</enum><text>by striking <quote>paragraph (8)(A)</quote> each place it appears and inserting <quote>paragraph (9)(A)</quote>;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id1c0807a40b0442b89423a119a97b46eb"><enum>(2)</enum><text>by striking <quote>paragraph (8)(B)</quote> each place it appears and inserting <quote>paragraph (9)(B)</quote>;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id187738c23c7e455c90e3358aa13833bf"><enum>(3)</enum><text>by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9);</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id5561414bb2c44330a686ac913fbb65b3"><enum>(4)</enum><text>by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id8EA315886C9A45AAA74BA37365FABF64" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSEG00"><paragraph id="id4b9156a6cd764e4683bf943d604bc42e"><enum>(8)</enum><header>Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for management of wildfire-related invasive species</header><subparagraph id="id1fb34e7cc2c749fcb0b1e94b080d5bff"><enum>(A)</enum><header>Definitions</header><text>In this paragraph:</text><clause id="id6823c3696dd54105a5d8828e4cdc3e6a"><enum>(i)</enum><header>Board</header><text>The term <term>Board</term> means the Management of Wildfire-Related Invasive Species Technology Advisory Board established by subparagraph (C)(i).</text></clause><clause id="id1a24598901e4452b9a03461e0b87806c"><enum>(ii)</enum><header>Prize competition</header><text>The term <term>prize competition</term> means the Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for the management of wildfire-related invasive species established under subparagraph (B).</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idcb3ad28fa219468aa2f2a0f3360153fe"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Authority</header><text>Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the <short-title>Western Wildfire Support Act of 2023</short-title>, the Secretary shall establish under section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/3719">15 U.S.C. 3719</external-xref>) a prize competition, to be known as the <quote>Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for the management of wildfire-related invasive species</quote>—</text><clause id="id2b997b250d704e748d9fce82a35d6297"><enum>(i)</enum><text>to encourage technological innovation with the potential to advance the mission of the National Invasive Species Council with respect to the management of wildfire-related invasive species; and</text></clause><clause id="id0914900e4834431b9cb454cb23338c4f"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>to award 1 or more prizes annually for a technological advancement that manages wildfire-related invasive species.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id3ce185a890f8478d8a0a84d305135373"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Advisory board</header><clause id="id906d0c1b84884cf0b0fcfbed9981a512"><enum>(i)</enum><header>Establishment</header><text>There is established an advisory board, to be known as the <quote>Management of Wildfire-Related Invasive Species Technology Advisory Board</quote>.</text></clause><clause id="id4c777371152c4b01a90251d55c13dd6a"><enum>(ii)</enum><header>Composition</header><text>The Board shall be composed of not fewer than 9 members appointed by the Secretary, who shall provide expertise in—</text><subclause id="idd530bc7d04a8420cb039943a706c6e39"><enum>(I)</enum><text>invasive species;</text></subclause><subclause id="idae562c288bb84eac853489d254ad38fb"><enum>(II)</enum><text>biology;</text></subclause><subclause id="id890bc327e09c41f5b6ee9635fbf9ff7a"><enum>(III)</enum><text>technology development;</text></subclause><subclause id="idf3b85ab8166f46ad90911267f1d9d373"><enum>(IV)</enum><text>engineering;</text></subclause><subclause id="idb82ed34736474d2bbfa23512e36811b1"><enum>(V)</enum><text>economics;</text></subclause><subclause id="id7f506db03bc0456f9aeddc486d2d14dd"><enum>(VI)</enum><text>business development and management;</text></subclause><subclause id="ida54e2d47eee545898a6b000e0013f6c3"><enum>(VII)</enum><text>wildfire; and</text></subclause><subclause id="idb8c545b94f9b4c6b8389287c19694e7a"><enum>(VIII)</enum><text>any other discipline, as the Secretary determines to be necessary to achieve the purposes of this paragraph.</text></subclause></clause><clause id="iddced7fd430134d5ba3dcfe1e2979e2c1"><enum>(iii)</enum><header>Duties</header><text>Subject to clause (iv), with respect to the prize competition, the Board shall—</text><subclause id="id3404b324d09e4fa49d2e4e67c9e205f1"><enum>(I)</enum><text>select a topic;</text></subclause><subclause id="id9c4bd88fb73347738f1da8c2c4bf0ca2"><enum>(II)</enum><text>issue a problem statement;</text></subclause><subclause id="id4ae92bfbb2944f17bd9be12e1e850f9a"><enum>(III)</enum><text>advise the Secretary regarding any opportunity for technological innovation to manage wildfire-related invasive species; and</text></subclause><subclause id="ida60b74381a6c44b5bcc4143eeeacdfc8"><enum>(IV)</enum><text>advise winners of the prize competition regarding opportunities to pilot and implement winning technologies in relevant fields, including in partnership with conservation organizations, Federal or State agencies, federally recognized Indian Tribes, private entities, and research institutions with expertise or interest relating to the management of wildfire-related invasive species.</text></subclause></clause><clause id="id7b3f934244924bd6a1f862ea07e70c6e"><enum>(iv)</enum><header>Consultation</header><text>In selecting a topic and issuing a problem statement for the prize competition, the Board shall consult widely with Federal and non-Federal stakeholders, including—</text><subclause id="id4acb9db92be5433eb0e5db149f24e242"><enum>(I)</enum><text>1 or more Federal agencies with jurisdiction over the management of invasive species;</text></subclause><subclause id="idc4fef50f43fb4f778a2fed8fe273936d"><enum>(II)</enum><text>1 or more Federal agencies with jurisdiction over the management of wildfire;</text></subclause><subclause id="id24b60039327b41b4a74ec8cb6a5df627"><enum>(III)</enum><text>1 or more State agencies with jurisdiction over the management of invasive species;</text></subclause><subclause id="id8aef264d626f47d39d5cc5523c6f8fc2"><enum>(IV)</enum><text>1 or more State agencies with jurisdiction over the management of wildfire;</text></subclause><subclause id="id0799c35053e742af800ade786d4cd3c9"><enum>(V)</enum><text>1 or more State, regional, or local wildlife organizations, the mission of which relates to the management of invasive species; and</text></subclause><subclause id="idba97d79a3de94d718dcd83f78751e061"><enum>(VI)</enum><text>1 or more wildlife conservation groups, technology companies, research institutions, institutions of higher education, industry associations, or individual stakeholders with an interest in the management of wildfire-related invasive species.</text></subclause></clause><clause id="id413ceaf7e25247f68caefe2719d86f9b"><enum>(v)</enum><header>Requirements</header><text>The Board shall comply with all requirements under paragraph (9)(A).</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idF0B6EDA08AB240A8A1324D28E867674A"><enum>(D)</enum><header display-inline="yes-display-inline">Administration by the National Invasive Species Council</header><text>The Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Invasive Species Council, shall administer the prize competition.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idbdf7717f34d74023a54749811867c18d"><enum>(E)</enum><header>Judges</header><clause id="idf36b6d469d064cf49564e02cff890331"><enum>(i)</enum><header>Appointment</header><text>The Secretary shall appoint not fewer than 3 judges who shall, except as provided in clause (ii), select the 1 or more annual winners of the prize competition.</text></clause><clause id="ida4188ca273384f8ca3d7cc185a1d8eb1"><enum>(ii)</enum><header>Determination by Secretary</header><text>The judges appointed under clause (i) shall not select any annual winner of the prize competition if the Secretary makes a determination that, in any fiscal year, none of the technological advancements entered into the prize competition merits an award.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id6f3db7b5d03e4fd3abcafc0c4eb90203"><enum>(F)</enum><header>Report to Congress</header><text>Not later than 60 days after the date on which a cash prize is awarded under this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report on the prize competition that includes—</text><clause id="id58e01a1dbb9f4833a8765d47ccfb0233"><enum>(i)</enum><text>a statement by the Board that describes the activities carried out by the Board relating to the duties described in subparagraph (C)(iii);</text></clause><clause id="id37bf8faf7a77417c8d18d594e23ab17e"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>a description of the 1 or more annual winners of the prize competition; and</text></clause><clause id="iddba8cb3ed72f4988838435d48dd11f9d"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>a statement by 1 or more of the judges appointed under subparagraph (E) that explains the basis on which the 1 or more winners of the prize competition was selected.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id7026513e1fd04591a40a670c0cadb29e"><enum>(G)</enum><header>Termination of authority</header><text>The Board and all authority provided under this paragraph shall terminate on December 31, 2028.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><after-quoted-block>; and</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph><paragraph id="idD8B249E381A9495AB494FC6B2968402E"><enum>(5)</enum><text>in paragraph (9) (as so redesignated)—</text><subparagraph id="idF8E93DB493014DC7AA49D3B7C2F050BB"><enum>(A)</enum><text>in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking <quote>or (7)(C)(i)</quote> and inserting <quote>(7)(C)(i), or (8)(C)(i)</quote>; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idBCEFDA4CE2304EE3ABF213EAB31E6CA3"><enum>(B)</enum><text>in subparagraph (B)—</text><clause id="idA55C3E7BBF474CC085B9FD1C80B970D6"><enum>(i)</enum><text>in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking <quote>or (7)(D)(i)</quote> and inserting <quote>(7)(D)(i), or (8)(D)(i)</quote>; and</text></clause><clause id="idD3909A872BFD4FDEACEEBC46A48793F4"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>in clause (i)(VII), by striking <quote>and (7)(E)</quote> and inserting <quote>(7)(E), and (8)(E)</quote>.</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph></section>1.Short title; table of contents(a)This Act may be cited as the Western Wildfire Support Act of 2024
.(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.Sec. 2. Definitions.TITLE I—PreparationSec. 101. Firefighting account transparency.Sec. 102. Reimbursement for wildfires caused by military training.Sec. 103. Strategic wildland fire management planning.Sec. 104. Study on integrating local firefighters into wildfire response.TITLE II—Wildfire detection and suppression supportSec. 201. Wildfire detection equipment.Sec. 202. Slip-on tank units.Sec. 203. Research and development of unmanned aircraft system fire applications.Sec. 204. Study on drone incursions on wildfire suppression.Sec. 205. Study on modernizing wildfire response technologies.TITLE III—Post-fire recovery supportSec. 301. Funding for online guides for post-disaster assistance.Sec. 302. Post-fire management and recovery.Sec. 303. Long-Term Burned Area Rehabilitation account.Sec. 304. Prize for wildfire-related invasive species reduction.2.In this Act:(1)The term congressional committees means—(A)the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and(B)the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.(2)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)units 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)land in the National Forest System.(3)The term fireshed means a geographically delineated forest landscape, within which a fire ignition would threaten homes, communities, or critical infrastructure.(4)(A)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)).(B)The term National Forest System does not include any forest reserve not created from the public domain. (5)The term resource management plan has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).(6)The term Secretaries means—(A)the Secretary of the Interior; and(B)the Secretary of Agriculture.(7)The term Secretary concerned means—(A)the Secretary of the Interior, in the case of Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior; and(B)the Secretary of Agriculture, in the case of Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture.<enum>I</enum><header>Preparation</header><section id="id5113cecf93174935a47e151f3d8b1489"><enum>101.</enum><header>Firefighting account transparency</header><subsection id="idd8487c8ebc38447ea4492c367018c2e7"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Annual reporting</header><text>Section 104(a) of division O of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/43/1748a-2">43 U.S.C. 1748a–2(a)</external-xref>), is amended—</text><paragraph id="id6a29771e49e247e7ae68dd612da9899b"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking <quote>the fiscal year</quote> and all that follows through <quote>this division,</quote> and inserting <quote>each fiscal year,</quote>; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id71b072d2245f4099b8eadb06e564bd31"><enum>(2)</enum><text>in paragraph (1), by striking <quote>report with respect to the additional new budget authority;</quote> and inserting <quote>report on the amounts obligated and the amounts expended from Wildland Fire Management accounts, including any amounts obligated or expended using additional new budget authority under section 251(b)(2)(F) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/2/901">2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(F)</external-xref>), in the preceding fiscal year;</quote>.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id58545f8b1d804c32bd58fb56464347da"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Inclusions</header><text>Section 104(b) of division O of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/43/1748a-2">43 U.S.C. 1748a–2(b)</external-xref>), is amended—</text><paragraph id="id223f63a792bf4cd48b364e213dfafbee"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in paragraph (3), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking <quote>a statistically significant sample of large fires, including an analysis for each fire</quote> and inserting <quote>each catastrophic wildfire described in subsection (c), including an analysis for each such catastrophic wildfire</quote>; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id9346ff0a6c3a43dc867548a023fda49b"><enum>(2)</enum><text>in paragraph (4), by striking <quote>by fire size</quote> and all that follows through the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: “by—</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id95b8c0f210f043e7bfc9c1d57f238966" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSEG00"><subparagraph id="id6aa5f38754c54973bb0b92fab1aa7cd3"><enum>(A)</enum><text>the total ground-based operations costs;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idc2a4852b9a7f4d0393867ba08a550838"><enum>(B)</enum><text>the total aircraft operations costs;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idccf876ec070a43bbbc06e238a5363de5"><enum>(C)</enum><text>the total personnel costs;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id576d7ecff8754c2b893e254f4a8fe0fd"><enum>(D)</enum><text>the total on-incident and off-incident support costs;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id7105a6a2bacd4e14a46c3899100b4b43"><enum>(E)</enum><text>the total funding allocated from the Wildland Fire Management account of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (as applicable) to pay for administrative costs; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id520db014593546bda4cbc0523998c6c2"><enum>(F)</enum><text>any other relevant factors, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (as applicable);</text></subparagraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id29f3a71fe91343b5ba13111c27fb1027"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Catastrophic wildfire described</header><text>Section 104 of division O of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/43/1748a-2">43 U.S.C. 1748a–2</external-xref>), is amended by adding at the end the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id4e3201d1d95d46e0afe23512acec3b19" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSEG00"><subsection id="id67df34798e804b399b7681ed8ae53889"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Catastrophic wildfire described</header><text>A catastrophic wildfire referred to in subsection (b)(3) is a wildfire incident or wildfire complex that—</text><paragraph id="id48a2fb1bc90b4e63877b13275de0722b"><enum>(1)</enum><text>requires the mobilization or use of Federal firefighting resources; </text></paragraph><paragraph id="ida8eab02948204387b8c10135d3ef392c"><enum>(2)</enum><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="yes-display-inline" id="idbc1b08fb5726423dbf54648f690fd9f2"><enum>(A)</enum><text>burns at least 100,000 acres of land; or</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idb4b6b3a19d304d1e9d60c401d5e48a32" indent="up1"><enum>(B)</enum><text>burns at least 50,000 acres of land, with a 50 percent or greater portion at high severity; and</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idfa3d8b92597948cdbe7947bd993850cf"><enum>(3)</enum><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="yes-display-inline" id="id40fa091fcaec440384ef07d57a763014"><enum>(A)</enum><text>results in total suppression costs of $50,000,000 or more;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id5ade90a4072a402098deb144d5c3952e" indent="up1"><enum>(B)</enum><text>destroys 1 or more primary residences; or</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id1df25b2bf8d44414bd145267dc654759" indent="up1"><enum>(C)</enum><text>directly results in the death of 1 or more individuals.</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subsection></section><section id="id2803ea2ef19d49cca5278c2684d29ff0"><enum>102.</enum><header>Reimbursement for wildfires caused by military training</header><subsection id="id82a868ff451d4be68378992d62be32bf"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Mutual aid</header><text>In accordance with section 2 of the Act of May 27, 1955 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/42/1856a">42 U.S.C. 1856a</external-xref>) (commonly known as the <quote>Reciprocal Fire Protection Act</quote>), the Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into reciprocal agreements with State agencies for mutual aid in furnishing fire suppression services.</text></subsection><subsection id="id898b235d2dbc4a3396e6e60095ded0ee"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Reimbursements</header><text>Each reciprocal agreement entered into under subsection (a) shall provide for the reimbursement of the State agency that is a party to the agreement for fire suppression services provided by the State agency as a result of a fire caused by military training or other planned actions carried out by the Department of Defense in support of military operations.</text></subsection><subsection id="id82805b20ae8c4cbe88959f7ac0853e0d"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Limitation</header><text>Services reimbursable under subsection (b) shall be limited to services directly attributable to the fire for which reimbursement is sought.</text></subsection><subsection id="idb4ed8e955ad04b31b10cc7d63624c13e"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Application</header><text>Each application from a State agency for reimbursement for services under subsection (b) shall provide an itemized request of the services covered by the application, including the costs of the services.</text></subsection><subsection id="id16ca7ef526974c878fbcd86dafdc1186"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Funds</header><text>Reimbursements under subsection (b) shall be made from amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Defense for operation and maintenance.</text></subsection><subsection id="idc000708a66a44753b03d955b24e13dec"><enum>(f)</enum><header>Existing agreements</header><text>An agreement in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act shall be considered an agreement entered into under subsection (a) if the agreement otherwise meets the requirements of such an agreement under this section.</text></subsection></section><section id="id712f1535232446e4a234f6d0b99e4cbe"><enum>103.</enum><header>Strategic wildland fire management planning</header><subsection id="idc4e3bc6b9d344de88c1c9ecd4ae9a38e"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Not later than September 30, 2026, the Secretary concerned shall review existing spatial fire management policies for each fireshed on Federal land and issue, as appropriate, new or revised policies that incorporate the best available science and planning tools.</text></subsection><subsection id="ida70e0af8aca64af6a922034ccc2cff73"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Requirements</header><text>Spatial fire management policies issued under subsection (a) shall—</text><paragraph id="id9774ea85a694468591786fe4cf00c99f"><enum>(1)</enum><text>be routinely reviewed and updated—</text><subparagraph id="id10b12223ef1f42bfa73a4b8f33dc2a05"><enum>(A)</enum><text>to include forest management activities or changes in accessibility;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id6d48a9cd0ead4aa599232d5f83058dbb"><enum>(B)</enum><text>not later than 1 year after the date on which a wildfire incident has occurred within the applicable fireshed; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id13244826197d47968419c5eb73b9c167"><enum>(C)</enum><text>not less frequently than once every 10 years;</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id741c4cae6ae44713b0f5b76e2ed51ae9"><enum>(2)</enum><text>identify potential wildfire and smoke risks to first responders, communities, critical infrastructure, and high-value resources;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="ide5416131a6ed4ae0ad9cbd1fa3d40140"><enum>(3)</enum><text>be consistent with any resource management plan developed for the applicable fireshed;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idb7b7b221d6964161a4cdd3fa4eb3aee1"><enum>(4)</enum><text>in coordination with any State that includes that fireshed, delineate potential wildland fire operational delineations that—</text><subparagraph id="id5e36226440b7450991d0e41976dc08b0"><enum>(A)</enum><text>identify potential wildfire control locations; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id645cfda409e9499a93d1d0b306529e12"><enum>(B)</enum><text>specify the places in which risk to wildfire responders may be elevated as a result of—</text><clause id="ida2f89beae4d4469e8b937fd273531a57"><enum>(i)</enum><text>exceeding a certain slope for the landscape;</text></clause><clause id="id331fdb06bb784d2ba7b89daacf3716af"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>containing an excess of hazardous fuels such that a threat would be posed under severe fire weather conditions; or</text></clause><clause id="id26a7c292faa7436ca2772cadcc5c224a"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>containing other known hazards;</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idd5e493dd443e4c428c77e8d52380858b"><enum>(5)</enum><text>include a description of the weather conditions for the fireshed that would comprise severe fire weather conditions; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idd1fab049ec774f559be5d47a1a35b030"><enum>(6)</enum><text>include other prefire planning provisions relevant to wildfire response, at the discretion of the Secretary concerned.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id522c672c0e204661b169cc8ff32c8013"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Wildfire consideration during land management planning</header><text>To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary concerned shall include, on a team carrying out any development or revision of a resource management plan for Federal land containing 1 more firesheds, an employee that was involved in the development of the spatial fire management policies for that fireshed.</text></subsection></section><section id="id3b77d54b91fd49fb9f2d710b674360aa"><enum>104.</enum><header>Study and report on integrating local firefighters into wildfire response</header><subsection id="idf0624826b4d04c75af63a1114536d056"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration and in coordination with the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, shall—</text><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id9cb5ed4e7e2e49289d071b0d1276f590"><enum>(1)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">conduct a study on the gaps in training for structural firefighters in high wildfire risk areas; and</text></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id6d0a021f568b4ccb869f036dfc6f6521"><enum>(2)</enum><text>submit to the congressional committees a report describing the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1). </text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idd72ecdce468045e88ad05db6f4f35716"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Inclusions</header><text>The report submitted under subsection (a)(2) shall include—</text><paragraph id="id2df05f32a52e420caa2d2720e217b162"><enum>(1)</enum><text>a summary of existing coordination practices between Federal wildland firefighters and State, local, or Tribal firefighters;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idcdc21e959fb1403897fd1ade9bb41e7b"><enum>(2)</enum><text>an analysis of the differences in best response practices for State, local, or Tribal firefighters when responding to a fire incident that threatens a single structure as compared to a wildfire that threatens a community;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id314536702fc2432c9b85a83e1891a612"><enum>(3)</enum><text>existing training modules, or gaps in existing training modules, available through the National Fire Academy to train State, local, or Tribal firefighters on best response practices for a wildfire that threatens a community; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idb8c4c023e68e47bdad34071737e83285"><enum>(4)</enum><text>an estimated cost and spending plan to address any gaps in existing training modules described in paragraph (3).</text></paragraph></subsection></section><enum>II</enum><header>Wildfire detection and suppression support</header><section id="idaecc0df9ef004c2fb8b1d1e98958a7ff"><enum>201.</enum><header>Wildfire detection equipment</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">To the extent practicable, the Secretary concerned shall—</text><paragraph id="idb445cecdd99849d38e72cd6a540e06f5"><enum>(1)</enum><text>expedite the placement of wildfire detection equipment, such as sensors, cameras, and other relevant equipment, in areas at risk of wildfire;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id4fe3d7e29ecb4690abc52c1a6233a15c"><enum>(2)</enum><text>expand the use of satellite data to improve wildfire detection and response;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idbffed3310b45487bb0ce8c468176818f"><enum>(3)</enum><text>expedite any permitting required by the Secretary concerned for the installation, maintenance, or removal of wildfire detection equipment;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id050eae6615b740f992ad1e968462cd5a"><enum>(4)</enum><text>use unmanned aerial vehicles to assess wildland fires in their incipient stages to determine the appropriate initial response actions;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id7e15ec32bd1648df9e311fd2f828c1b0"><enum>(5)</enum><text>review permitting described in paragraph (3) and procurement requirements for wildfire detection equipment within the context of modern and innovative technology; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id1d65f9717dcd49c3bbe1c5ca92cc2824"><enum>(6)</enum><text>annually provide a forum for companies engaging in the development and testing of emergent wildland fire technology to engage with wildland fire managers.</text></paragraph></section><section id="id84455632ac3242008e26fbb49228505d"><enum>202.</enum><header>Slip-on tanker units</header><subsection id="id782b6fce23704f3f933acd81630f1bd5"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Financial assistance for acquisition of firefighting slip-on tanker units</header><text>Section 40803(c)(5) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/6592">16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(5)</external-xref>) is amended by inserting <quote>and Indian Tribes</quote> after <quote>local governments</quote>.</text></subsection><subsection id="id5160aa6d78094123aa4baf28f0ba52df"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Reporting requirement</header><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id11281de419be42ab8ca4687346ff86a4"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives an annual report on the implementation of section 40803(c)(5) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/6592">16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(5)</external-xref>), including a description of—</text><subparagraph id="id5628783468fa478a8abff9e9a51ee5bd"><enum>(A)</enum><text>the total number of slip-on tanker units purchased with financial assistance provided by the Secretary of the Interior under that section in the preceding year, by State;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id33e3c2472fe34d7b8edfeb5a88a36e80"><enum>(B)</enum><text>the number of requests received by the Secretary of the Interior for financial assistance under that section to purchase slip-on tanker units in the preceding year; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id2f09cd237b80488ab828c5d820c6987a"><enum>(C)</enum><text>any barriers identified by the Secretary of the Interior to the ability of local governments and Indian Tribes to participate in the pilot program established under that section.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id96d4448e2b3a4416a2d805dd383bf4cf"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Timing</header><subparagraph id="id853324c28a654ee98a23ad15a7858baf"><enum>(A)</enum><header>Initial report</header><text>The Secretary of the Interior shall submit the first report required under paragraph (1) not later than October 1, 2024.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idb7b402532a86430abb567fa4b0c731ef"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Sunset</header><text>The requirements of this subsection shall expire on October 1, 2028.</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idb7ea8bc873914ec19b7a9d394cd47eb7"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Integration into wildfire response</header><text>The Secretaries, in coordination with recipients of financial assistance for slip-on tanker units provided under section 40803(c)(5) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/6592">16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(5)</external-xref>), shall—</text><paragraph id="id64e5e64a6a554476bb86d2ed5c99450d"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in coordination with the Administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration, promulgate guidance for the mobilization of slip-on tanker units for wildfire response;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idc4ba30f1e7734b579f27a81f8b3a242c"><enum>(2)</enum><text>as practicable, incorporate mobilized slip-on tanker units into resource tracking systems; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idae157318e9854bc9a41a1e0fa182a97b"><enum>(3)</enum><text>collaborate with the Administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration regarding any necessary training for operators of slip-on tanker units.</text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="idc41c7e74848e4acbab7ef4a2c7164779"><enum>203.</enum><header>Research and development of unmanned aircraft system fire applications</header><subsection id="idd6ea280b1c6647ae91df88f0da46a243"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Definition of unmanned aircraft system</header><text>In this section, the term <term>unmanned aircraft system</term> means an unmanned aircraft and associated elements (including, if applicable, communication links and the components that control the unmanned aircraft) that are required for the operator to operate safely and efficiently.</text></subsection><subsection id="idd03ff9525d3947ea988691c80002d74f"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Research</header><text>The Secretaries shall, acting through the Joint Fire Science Program, work with universities and other research institutions to carry out research and development on the wildfire response applications of unmanned aircraft systems.</text></subsection><subsection id="id578dafce920346eeab161dd9bbc6dd78"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Testing</header><text>The Secretaries may coordinate with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to test an unmanned aircraft system developed under this section at an unmanned aircraft test range in accordance with section 44803 of title 49, United States Code.</text></subsection><subsection id="id6c692b631bfe44b6b864d2f0c500b3d5"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Authorization of appropriations</header><text>There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretaries such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.</text></subsection></section><section id="id82211ea1fdd94fb088d0de3085761f8f"><enum>204.</enum><header>Study on drone incursions on wildfire suppression</header><subsection id="idc648a81d30e14e2980833877710ba06c"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Definitions</header><text>In this section:</text><paragraph id="id209e8758353341b496723b26592fee4d"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Administrator</header><text>The term <term>Administrator</term> means the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id2d965ff72e2547e5804f446235b984c1"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Drone</header><text>The term <term>drone</term> means an unmanned aircraft system owned by a private individual or entity.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idff695dc2d7fb408f9b5303cc3406ead2"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Drone incursion</header><text>The term <term>drone incursion</term> means the operation of a drone within any airspace for which the Administrator has issued a temporary flight restriction because of a wildfire.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id3a5b4af6ed86436e878d84c58e970e09"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Study required</header><text>The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall conduct a study on the effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression with respect to land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture.</text></subsection><subsection id="iddd4bb1277f574766b101ae9f5912c506"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Study contents</header><text>In conducting the study required under subsection (b), the Administrator shall—</text><paragraph id="idd1f68e37830d4d019054911623b41241"><enum>(1)</enum><text>determine, for each of the 5 most recent calendar years—</text><subparagraph id="id8a41936f07fb4acda5d776395fa3895c"><enum>(A)</enum><text>the number of occurrences in which a drone incursion interfered with wildfire suppression; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idf6d8944ea71448be90cfb32cafc57818"><enum>(B)</enum><text>the estimated effect of each occurrence described in subparagraph (A) on—</text><clause id="id70db826dde9845f7a4254b483ab0250d"><enum>(i)</enum><text>the length of time required to achieve complete suppression;</text></clause><clause id="id5eb39b2d90dd4bafb3685ccd2d55bdda"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>any associated delay in the fielding of aerial firefighting response units; and</text></clause><clause id="idaf1bdff554aa41c1af4e98791b222314"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>the amounts expended by the Federal Government; and</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idb5e9f00d49e84bb394befb8dfdbb80d0"><enum>(2)</enum><text>evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of various actions to prevent drone incursions, including—</text><subparagraph id="id116a473f06394da680604686029773cc"><enum>(A)</enum><text>the use of counter-drone radio towers;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id1cf19d7b8af6438287a6a456cfc510e0"><enum>(B)</enum><text>the use of reasonable force to disable, damage, or destroy a drone;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idb47cc7b75ddc490b8a26906e748e310e"><enum>(C)</enum><text>the seizure of a drone, including seizure with a net device; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0483b7be4fda481886cf9e5861b47fd7"><enum>(D)</enum><text>the dissemination of educational materials relating to the effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression.</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id8755b419302041c99776cdddfa0ddab4"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Report</header><text>Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the congressional committees, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report describing—</text><paragraph id="id97d60356b5214d3b971d9634490e36d0"><enum>(1)</enum><text>the findings of the study required under subsection (b); and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id6568081fce2c4f09858581aeae1b07fa"><enum>(2)</enum><text>any recommendations relating to those findings.</text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="id605e83932f51435e8426bddab3e8bf1a"><enum>205.</enum><header>Study on modernizing wildfire response technologies</header><subsection id="id4d9e37871be342998b54714765414cbc"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Secretaries shall conduct a study on—</text><paragraph id="id6f0ac287573542bd96b7cc974bb051a4"><enum>(1)</enum><text>necessary improvements to radio communications systems and infrastructure during wildland fire or prescribed fire operations, including—</text><subparagraph id="idf776b9ebf4934f548ddfa2ca7a4d8fa5"><enum>(A)</enum><text>an assessment of the quality and reliability of existing radio infrastructure;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ide8674ddd0c9a4d31849ac9aa51984307"><enum>(B)</enum><text>for any instance in which existing radio communications infrastructure has failed, an assessment of the impacts on forest management or wildfire response activities;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idf3a1af74a33f4660b9829681698d4257"><enum>(C)</enum><text>a comparison of existing options to improve on-the-ground communications; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id4dd13d49652945f49b06872fa1597fba"><enum>(D)</enum><text>a cost analysis and estimated timeline to install the most feasible option identified under subparagraph (C);</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id1d18d6628b0344db9484df3bbbc0d598"><enum>(2)</enum><text>real-time or near-real-time situational awareness tools for operational firefighters, including—</text><subparagraph id="iddca3572fbe0d49a898400ad71466a1eb"><enum>(A)</enum><text>standards and requirements for such tools to ensure interoperability between Federal firefighting entities and applicable State, local, Tribal, or other partners;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id523be12a42f846359af0aa65a246ea9c"><enum>(B)</enum><text>any requirements for additional remote sensing and mapping capabilities to fully leverage such situational awareness tools; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id18a8e260e492418b922fab011cfd3365"><enum>(C)</enum><text>a cost comparison between commercially available systems and internally developed systems; and</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id639d33f067dd46d0abb6b7305569948f"><enum>(3)</enum><text>wildland fire predictive modeling, including—</text><subparagraph id="id3c11596098c242689e5312784db0b9e7"><enum>(A)</enum><text>an analysis of the data required to reduce predictive error for existing or developing models;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idebe09d4f0cd947fb866345243bf3ce0c"><enum>(B)</enum><text>an analysis of computing needs to more swiftly or accurately model wildland fire using existing or developing models;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0d9f70f142c140c8a122ac37b909a99d"><enum>(C)</enum><text>the feasibility of using artificial intelligence for wildland fire modeling; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idd62c06cd21cc4c388805a4fea1f42ff8"><enum>(D)</enum><text>existing or developing wildland fire predictive models that could assist with establishing safe conditions for igniting a prescribed fire.</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idd15f102fedfe4c569bbd252bf82d70c1"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Submission and public availability</header><text>Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to the congressional committees and make publicly available the results of the study conducted under subsection (a).</text></subsection></section><enum>III</enum><header>Post-fire recovery support</header><section id="id64aa350a58c34362a0cc4825a0ba6d2c"><enum>301.</enum><header>Funding for online guides for post-disaster assistance</header><subsection id="idea23575756334b79ab4e2ba7588bc1e7"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Use of services of other agencies</header><text>Section 201(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/42/5131">42 U.S.C. 5131(a)</external-xref>) is amended—</text><paragraph id="id1e54baf9747c497f966e4072484a18d7"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting <quote>; and</quote>; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id809270100a4149c9b00b6c2b21ffad13"><enum>(2)</enum><text>by adding at the end the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id0ef2a5c799e641bf9248af680d7b16ad" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSEG00"><paragraph id="iddff831b74d514f67aa48ef27832fdcc7"><enum>(8)</enum><text>post-disaster assistance.</text></paragraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id0648a278d6e6480e8e272924d297a693"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Funding for online guides for assistance</header><text>Section 201 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/42/5131">42 U.S.C. 5131</external-xref>) is amended by adding at the end the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idbfca60bb3a99444eb42ffcdc6e8f0150" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSEG00"><subsection id="id6b9a4f229f894b3e9137eb56146144a0"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Funding for online guides for assistance</header><paragraph id="id6e5f06b078db41728ce57d652592c704"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may enter into cooperative agreements to provide funding or technical assistance to a State agency designated or established under subsection (c) to establish, update, or operate a website to provide information relating to post-disaster recovery funding and resources to a community or an individual impacted by a major disaster or emergency.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id1ba8347319d44b9782ed276a1d0d66b9"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Management</header><text>A website established, updated, or operated under this subsection shall be—</text><subparagraph id="id0b074fb53752464a93bdef57a1ffbe58"><enum>(A)</enum><text>managed by the State agency; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idd11bac5020a2443c88c09d3eedf1004c"><enum>(B)</enum><text>suitable for the residents of the State of the State agency.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id4e1e239e039340d2baa74f8af9e9c8fe"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Content</header><text>The Administrator may provide funding to a State agency under this subsection to establish, update, or operate a website that provides only 1 or more of the following:</text><subparagraph id="id8b7c1dbfc23b406da1d2c6af5bdd3c7a"><enum>(A)</enum><text>A list of Federal, State, and local sources of post-disaster recovery funding or assistance that may be available to a community after a disaster or emergency.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0ac85d4154f54a71bcf636e732db5850"><enum>(B)</enum><text>A list of Federal, State, and local sources of post-disaster recovery funding or assistance that may be available to an individual impacted by a major disaster or emergency.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id4da33d8803a943aaa831d7b856c2dac7"><enum>(C)</enum><text>A technical guide that lists and explains the costs and benefits of alternatives available to a community to mitigate the impacts of a major disaster or emergency and prepare for sequential hazards, such as flooding after a wildfire.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id4524e37e95d54adc835e675c1ce930cb"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Cooperation</header><text>A State agency that receives funding or technical assistance to establish, update, or operate a website under this subsection shall cooperate with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in establishing, updating, or operating the website under this subsection.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id2184a2bb53c343b8854a8e39cec1b667"><enum>(5)</enum><header>Updates</header><text>A State agency that receives funding to establish, update, or operate a website under this subsection shall update the website not less frequently than once every 180 days.</text></paragraph></subsection><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subsection></section><section id="id54394edd42644ce78c17a1d57e380062"><enum>302.</enum><header>Post-fire management and recovery</header><subsection id="id5cdc2c2273f84ed5bcd15cbca6bba893"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall establish 1 or more permanent Burned Area Emergency Response Teams (referred to in this section as a <term>BAER Team</term>) to coordinate immediate post-wildfire emergency stabilization and erosion planning efforts.</text></subsection><subsection id="id8fae3478b4ef4707a0daee44e28639e4"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Requirements</header><text>A BAER Team shall—</text><paragraph id="id246dd0ad5fef4ae2ac34d227b0ddf3ae"><enum>(1)</enum><text>survey the landscape affected by a wildfire to determine burn severity;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id7030e66b0040415cbaaa27d1c0b66ee4"><enum>(2)</enum><text>identify and remove, as necessary, dead or dying trees that may pose an immediate hazard to individuals, communities, or critical infrastructure;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id2228957f779642cba8ad6efcdeaafc44"><enum>(3)</enum><text>stabilize or remove hazardous materials resulting from a wildfire that may pose an immediate hazard to individuals, communities, or the environment; </text></paragraph><paragraph id="idf5d4a111c52749b4973024e5c4eee108"><enum>(4)</enum><text>conduct emergency landscape stabilization and erosion prevention work, prioritizing efforts that ensure public safety;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id4523019ed03144f788fd0f6cafd5369e"><enum>(5)</enum><text>prevent the proliferation and spread of invasive species;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id665107354918470e8399b51d76fe801f"><enum>(6)</enum><text>assist with informing the public of hazards resulting from a wildfire;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id92f2a49b5beb4ff8abe4912262b0eb6a"><enum>(7)</enum><text>collaborate, as necessary, with activities under section 303; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id6e0d2b49ff934e5abb9bdb14a50125d2"><enum>(8)</enum><text>conduct such other work as the Secretary concerned determines to be necessary.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id9e8315bdc1704fd581a85a539e5650b9"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Duration</header><text>To the maximum extent practicable, a BAER Team shall coordinate and respond to immediate post-wildfire emergency stabilization and erosion planning needs for a period of not more than 1 year after the date of containment of a wildfire.</text></subsection><subsection id="id162a9a85377b4a36a88208d78a259eba"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Funding</header><text>The Secretary concerned may use to carry out this section funds made available by section 40803(c)(16) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/6592">16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(16)</external-xref>).</text></subsection></section><section id="id346c2cf739a4496481ee5904339447f8"><enum>303.</enum><header>Long-Term Burned Area Rehabilitation account</header><subsection id="id406148aa5bd44aa28099652b924b1bac"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Establishment of account</header><text>There is established in the Treasury of the United States the Long-Term Burned Area Rehabilitation account for the Department of Agriculture.</text></subsection><subsection id="id3adb2ab58687443c912361091bf3f929"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Authorization of appropriations</header><text>There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter for the account established by subsection (a) such sums as are necessary to carry out the activities described in subsection (d), not to exceed $100,000,000.</text></subsection><subsection id="id2584016111c34408869aba3a6b71b6cc"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Presidential budget requests</header><text>For fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit through the budget request of the President and in accordance with subsection (b), a request for amounts in the National Forest System appropriation account to carry out the activities described in subsection (d).</text></subsection><subsection id="idb70c7371814146bfac99f8513dff3921"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Authorized activities</header><text>The Secretary of Agriculture shall use amounts in the account established by subsection (a) for rehabilitation projects located at sites impacted by a wildfire or post-wildfire flooding primarily on Federal land, but may include areas on non-Federal land, that—</text><paragraph id="idc9191ad39f704783855c9f4fdcafa85e"><enum>(1)</enum><text>restore the functions of an ecosystem, including—</text><subparagraph id="ide5f4c370052e4cc1a8b986bf24c2d599"><enum>(A)</enum><text>identifying areas where natural regeneration is unlikely to occur;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idb8191b5fd86840bd9f988b23e3cb63d2"><enum>(B)</enum><text>revegetation and reforestation, including coordinating any necessary site preparation, salvage harvesting, and replanting;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idaef9e632be1a45b3be05a8bdabc75055"><enum>(C)</enum><text>watershed restoration;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id15128304b929424795fb32ebe4556607"><enum>(D)</enum><text>invasive species mitigation and removal; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idefb1f49c6e144b06bea847ad7c9f4d9a"><enum>(E)</enum><text>wildlife habitat restoration; or </text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id300030e074da4a87b74df7fdab415bb4"><enum>(2)</enum><text>repair or replace infrastructure or facilities critical for land management activities.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id0128ae885d1a4a07b71a88e6db0ae116"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Duration of activities</header><text>A rehabilitation project under subsection (d) shall—</text><paragraph id="iddeaeed21554446e1ba00d8f1a0ab65f1"><enum>(1)</enum><text>begin not earlier than the date on which the wildfire was contained; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id11f2b1bd1a7f4cebb94782c2e322832b"><enum>(2)</enum><text>be completed not later than 5 years after the date on which the wildfire was contained.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idda91980536d24af3b068bb033fccfa90"><enum>(f)</enum><header>Agreement authority</header><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idb99767d9aa57492b9c1aaa98b19a1ca4"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The Secretary of Agriculture may enter to agreements with non-Federal entities to carry out activities described in subsection (d).</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id0571bc62778a451dbbafef3a56a6e62a"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Cost share</header><text>The non-Federal share of the costs of implementing activities under an agreement entered into under paragraph (1)—</text><subparagraph id="id1e2d07fdb3c0438dbf28d3ad6e3e2567"><enum>(A)</enum><text>shall be not more than 20 percent; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idd339ee7ec54449ca9ad2abbea17e6a75"><enum>(B)</enum><text>may include in-kind contributions.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idfd941939ebdc4bb484392d0546ec0988"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Savings provision</header><text>Nothing in this subsection—</text><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="ida42205ee58414635a63273a4267a0507"><enum>(A)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">requires the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into agreements with non-Federal entities to carry out activities described in subsection (d); or </text></subparagraph><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id9f94201a5b0347038cc3199604026147"><enum>(B)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">limits the effect of the prioritization requirements under subsection (g).</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id2751c574a1ff4b46ad2286ecd7d9ad29"><enum>(g)</enum><header>Prioritization of funding</header><text>The Secretary of Agriculture shall prioritize, on a nationwide basis, projects for which funding requests are submitted under this section based on downstream effects on water resources.</text></subsection><subsection id="idaa5016f415b9450a993b31da936fcc67"><enum>(h)</enum><header>Reporting</header><text>Beginning in fiscal year 2027, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall annually submit to Congress a report on the burned area recovery work performed using—</text><paragraph id="idf72582d1498441be8c1457358a39854c"><enum>(1)</enum><text>amounts from the account established by subsection (a);</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idd3b55d3121514fc0adf8736a1203895c"><enum>(2)</enum><text>amounts made available under the Act of June 9, 1930 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/576">16 U.S.C. 576 et seq.</external-xref>); and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id00afbbc3b58f4e9382fc4842f1861c85"><enum>(3)</enum><text>amounts from the Reforestation Trust Fund established by section 303(a) of <external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/96/451">Public Law 96–451</external-xref> (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/1606a">16 U.S.C. 1606a(a)</external-xref>).</text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="id3e42175b4ced4f02958f6aed9472e53b"><enum>304.</enum><header>Prize for wildfire-related invasive species reduction</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Section 7001(d) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/16/742b">16 U.S.C. 742b</external-xref> note; <external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/116/9">Public Law 116–9</external-xref>) is amended—</text><paragraph id="id849c76d6ddca47e59837bde25678d4c3"><enum>(1)</enum><text>by striking <quote>paragraph (8)(A)</quote> each place it appears and inserting <quote>paragraph (9)(A)</quote>;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idbad2b9b42a4342a8a8d70f21ed5cae31"><enum>(2)</enum><text>by striking <quote>paragraph (8)(B)</quote> each place it appears and inserting <quote>paragraph (9)(B)</quote>;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="ida6ae760579d84ec8802cd2c02b9dc637"><enum>(3)</enum><text>by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9);</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idcc9fb5a3474647a1b11f8117e765d762"><enum>(4)</enum><text>by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id365407c9f01a4725993ad50b2ab99f06" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSEG00"><paragraph id="idf6c660548f6f424a838f0f7973301f9c"><enum>(8)</enum><header>Theodore roosevelt genius prize for management of wildfire-related invasive species</header><subparagraph id="idf5b4b1a74bc54da2aa0d5836d16da055"><enum>(A)</enum><header>Definitions</header><text>In this paragraph:</text><clause id="idb1a94bdcdca64406a0cf6ec05d114094"><enum>(i)</enum><header>Board</header><text>The term <term>Board</term> means the Management of Wildfire-Related Invasive Species Technology Advisory Board established by subparagraph (C)(i).</text></clause><clause id="idf6929b10f4f54d57a8941405fa28f3e2"><enum>(ii)</enum><header>Prize competition</header><text>The term <term>prize competition</term> means the Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for the management of wildfire-related invasive species established under subparagraph (B).</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ida0796b5577c04978a7a01831e4f3d8c0"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Authority</header><text>Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the <short-title>Western Wildfire Support Act of 2024</short-title>, the Secretary shall establish under section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/3719">15 U.S.C. 3719</external-xref>) a prize competition, to be known as the <quote>Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for the management of wildfire-related invasive species</quote>—</text><clause id="id1dacf5b3394f47e3a005698e081e2b46"><enum>(i)</enum><text>to encourage technological innovation with the potential to advance the mission of the National Invasive Species Council with respect to the management of wildfire-related invasive species; and</text></clause><clause id="ida1850093ba2744e4a4c1749c3ae8eda9"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>to award 1 or more prizes annually for a technological advancement that manages wildfire-related invasive species.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ida34d35f65cd44f8aaa3e4c1c524829a0"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Advisory board</header><clause id="id60bf653cd4304d0db34b12d8f11abcdc"><enum>(i)</enum><header>Establishment</header><text>There is established an advisory board, to be known as the <quote>Management of Wildfire-Related Invasive Species Technology Advisory Board</quote>.</text></clause><clause id="idac0be87ae2d144608f37f6a50da9bbab"><enum>(ii)</enum><header>Composition</header><text>The Board shall be composed of not fewer than 9 members appointed by the Secretary, who shall provide expertise in—</text><subclause id="id6671e36ea69f4161a88a6f9b0bac2c33"><enum>(I)</enum><text>invasive species;</text></subclause><subclause id="id7efcd60166d44916b2014a86301e6b54"><enum>(II)</enum><text>biology;</text></subclause><subclause id="idd8d18f4a6c6a44948720d9a7fce6226a"><enum>(III)</enum><text>technology development;</text></subclause><subclause id="ida4134b3d41214586869144f63a7a15ae"><enum>(IV)</enum><text>engineering;</text></subclause><subclause id="id807931d548ae4c7d9fe6506292fd2393"><enum>(V)</enum><text>economics;</text></subclause><subclause id="id179f980e9a7345b4a0077de2673b992d"><enum>(VI)</enum><text>business development and management;</text></subclause><subclause id="id3e713e5e93754f9fba3880770215cd9e"><enum>(VII)</enum><text>wildfire; and</text></subclause><subclause id="id4c98d46e1f514455bb842e7e26908efc"><enum>(VIII)</enum><text>any other discipline, as the Secretary determines to be necessary to achieve the purposes of this paragraph.</text></subclause></clause><clause id="idc6d4fc0266064e698152c6cebda1fa39"><enum>(iii)</enum><header>Duties</header><text>Subject to clause (iv), with respect to the prize competition, the Board shall—</text><subclause id="idb2437006c1314750b45b67742f31aadb"><enum>(I)</enum><text>select a topic;</text></subclause><subclause id="id290382b949b64ca3b89331ed54f856cf"><enum>(II)</enum><text>issue a problem statement;</text></subclause><subclause id="id558c1a9bd91e4f5e88c5718a76ea617a"><enum>(III)</enum><text>advise the Secretary regarding any opportunity for technological innovation to manage wildfire-related invasive species; and</text></subclause><subclause id="idc11b14fbf588454b81bf33d84d721d11"><enum>(IV)</enum><text>advise winners of the prize competition regarding opportunities to pilot and implement winning technologies in relevant fields, including in partnership with conservation organizations, Federal or State agencies, federally recognized Indian Tribes, private entities, and research institutions with expertise or interest relating to the management of wildfire-related invasive species.</text></subclause></clause><clause id="id527f9cf723d147b4b0325f922d1415d5"><enum>(iv)</enum><header>Consultation</header><text>In selecting a topic and issuing a problem statement for the prize competition, the Board shall consult widely with Federal and non-Federal stakeholders, including—</text><subclause id="id7a782bfc0a2743e880c4585ebc565c68"><enum>(I)</enum><text>1 or more Federal agencies with jurisdiction over the management of invasive species;</text></subclause><subclause id="id85b7c755df944ddd82830145a746e348"><enum>(II)</enum><text>1 or more Federal agencies with jurisdiction over the management of wildfire;</text></subclause><subclause id="id6bcee9c2f0b44294b268c51a42d3a857"><enum>(III)</enum><text>1 or more State agencies with jurisdiction over the management of invasive species;</text></subclause><subclause id="id6f4f8737ec404c6d9f8fd7ee51cad085"><enum>(IV)</enum><text>1 or more State agencies with jurisdiction over the management of wildfire;</text></subclause><subclause id="id87831970131147049218cb39e591b4b1"><enum>(V)</enum><text>1 or more State, regional, or local wildlife organizations, the mission of which relates to the management of invasive species; and</text></subclause><subclause id="id895abce2f40445b18d8afcdb4792337a"><enum>(VI)</enum><text>1 or more wildlife conservation groups, technology companies, research institutions, institutions of higher education, industry associations, or individual stakeholders with an interest in the management of wildfire-related invasive species.</text></subclause></clause><clause id="id85ebcc31ff4946a6a775bdff37f482b8"><enum>(v)</enum><header>Requirements</header><text>The Board shall comply with all requirements under paragraph (9)(A).</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id3990a345cf2d4ad5b0408831505ec88a"><enum>(D)</enum><header>Administration by the national invasive species council</header><text>The Secretary, acting through the Executive Director of the National Invasive Species Council, shall administer the prize competition and perform the duties described in paragraph (9)(B)(i).</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id5edbff17b7de42e5bcb9d1b4b9d5b691"><enum>(E)</enum><header>Judges</header><clause id="id798b12222e4640ad91ecb7e490c6078c"><enum>(i)</enum><header>Appointment</header><text>The Secretary shall appoint not fewer than 3 judges who shall, except as provided in clause (ii), select the 1 or more annual winners of the prize competition.</text></clause><clause id="id6d74aa4c0cf14111bdc9c733c672fcba"><enum>(ii)</enum><header>Determination by secretary</header><text>The judges appointed under clause (i) shall not select any annual winner of the prize competition if the Secretary makes a determination that, in any fiscal year, none of the technological advancements entered into the prize competition merits an award.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id7746e5b3247e4b599f7b5c09873bdd4e"><enum>(F)</enum><header>Report to congress</header><text>Not later than 60 days after the date on which a cash prize is awarded under this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report on the prize competition that includes—</text><clause id="idad702635287744ad9508f02f02de922c"><enum>(i)</enum><text>a statement by the Board that describes the activities carried out by the Board relating to the duties described in subparagraph (C)(iii);</text></clause><clause id="ide0cbc24ad07b4cadaeb52938b58fc9a7"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>a description of the 1 or more annual winners of the prize competition; and</text></clause><clause id="id5a64648f1a4045ee8f5b8df987f4f71c"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>a statement by 1 or more of the judges appointed under subparagraph (E) that explains the basis on which the 1 or more winners of the prize competition was selected.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id9ae409295a6e4c95a4ea106f3fcf83d2"><enum>(G)</enum><header>Termination of authority</header><text>The Board and all authority provided under this paragraph shall terminate on December 31, 2028.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><after-quoted-block>; and</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph><paragraph id="idfe2f799214004d64a5d982764eeb4544"><enum>(5)</enum><text>in paragraph (9) (as so redesignated)—</text><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id2f4bf70d68e048129e026e032fbe665e"><enum>(A)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking <quote>or (7)(C)(i)</quote> and inserting <quote>(7)(C)(i), or (8)(C)(i)</quote>; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="iddc29514160044d75912906a86a883749"><enum>(B)</enum><text>in subparagraph (C)—</text><clause commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id6f3f293ec2e747049764fe034703b940"><enum>(i)</enum><text>in clause (i), by inserting <quote>and the amount of the initial cash prize awarded for a year under paragraph (8)</quote> after <quote>subparagraph (B)(i)(IX)</quote>; and</text></clause><clause commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id931a506cab2748818d8f61c1ae9edb61"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>by adding at the end the following:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id54E246D9D7334D54AA457A47624582B0" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSEG00"><clause commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id79D3CC596FF1414BBF9F164063444607"><enum>(iii)</enum><header>Additional wildfire cash prizes</header><text>If the Secretary determines that funds are available for an additional cash prize under the prize competition under paragraph (8) for a year, the Secretary shall determine the amount of the additional cash prize.</text></clause><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></clause></subparagraph></paragraph></section>November 21, 2024Reported with an amendment