[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5290 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5290
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue competitive grants and
enter into cooperative agreements to respond to and address mountain
pine beetles, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 6, 2026
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to issue competitive grants and
enter into cooperative agreements to respond to and address mountain
pine beetles, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Mountain Pine Beetle
Response and Coordination Act''.
SEC. 2. MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE RESPONSE PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(2) Mountain pine beetle response project.--The term
``mountain pine beetle response project'' means a project
that--
(A) is carried out on National Forest System land
for purposes of restoring forest health in an area that
experienced, or is experiencing, a mountain pine beetle
outbreak resulting in significant tree mortality; and
(B) may include the following activities:
(i) Removal of beetle-killed or beetle-
infested hazard trees consistent with the
applicable forest plan.
(ii) Processing of beetle-killed or beetle-
infested hazard trees.
(iii) Forest thinning and other fuels
reduction of plant debris associated with
mountain pine beetle mortality to alter or
clear fuels created by the outbreak and address
a public safety, critical infrastructure, or
watershed health need.
(iv) Reforestation, including tree
planting.
(v) Ecological restoration designed to
promote biodiversity.
(vi) Watershed protection and stabilization
measures, including--
(I) slope stabilization;
(II) sediment and runoff control;
(III) flood and erosion mitigation;
and
(IV) planning, monitoring, and
technical assistance for purposes of
maintaining watershed health.
(3) National forest system.--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)).
(4) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Mountain Pine
Beetle Response Program established under subsection (b).
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
(6) Sponsor.--The term ``sponsor'' means--
(A) a State or local government;
(B) an Indian Tribe;
(C) a water management district, a water
conservation district, a special district, or a public
water, wastewater, and stormwater utility; and
(D) an electric utility, transmitting utility, or
Transmission Organization (as those terms are defined
in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796))
or an electrical transmission provider.
(7) Wildland-urban interface.--The term ``wildland-urban
interface'' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
(b) Program Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a
competitive grant program, to be known as the ``Mountain Pine Beetle
Response Program'', under which the Secretary may issue a grant to a
sponsor for use in carrying out a mountain pine beetle response
project.
(c) Selection.--
(1) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
the Program, a sponsor shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such form, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require, including a
description of the mountain pine beetle response project
proposed to be carried out with the grant funds.
(2) Selection priority.--In selecting an applicant to
receive a grant under the Program, the Secretary shall give
priority to applicants that propose to carry out a mountain
pine beetle response project--
(A) designed to protect municipal water supplies
and critical infrastructure;
(B) designed to reduce wildfire risk to communities
in the wildland-urban interface;
(C) focused on an area that has experienced, or is
experiencing, a mountain pine beetle outbreak resulting
in high tree mortality or low natural ecological
regeneration; and
(D) that aligns with a State forest action plan or
watershed strategy.
(d) Disbursement.--In disbursing grant funds awarded to a grant
recipient under the Program, the Secretary--
(1) may disburse all or part of those grant funds to the
recipient at any time during the period beginning on the date
on which the grant is awarded and ending 30 days after the date
on which the Secretary receives the written notification
described in paragraph (2); and
(2) shall ensure that all of those grant funds are
disbursed not later than 30 days after the date on which the
Secretary receives written notification from the recipient
attesting that the mountain pine beetle response project for
which the grant was awarded is complete.
SEC. 3. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO ADDRESS MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE
INFESTATIONS.
(a) Definition of Covered Entity.--In this section, the term
``covered entity'' means each of the following:
(1) The Governor of a State.
(2) An Indian Tribe.
(3) A county or municipal government.
(4) The chief executive officer of a political subdivision
of a State.
(b) Cooperative Agreement Authorization.--The Secretary of
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, may enter
into a cooperative agreement with a covered entity to provide for
activities to support the detection, treatment, and mitigation of
mountain pine beetle infestations on land subject to the jurisdiction
of the Secretary or that covered entity, which may include the
following:
(1) Coordinated monitoring and data sharing.
(2) Joint planning and implementation of projects.
(3) Processing beetle kill or infested trees.
(4) Increasing wood processing and workforce development
capacity.
(5) Hazard reduction in areas affected by mountain pine
beetle infestations, consistent with the applicable forest
plan.
(c) Technical Assistance.--
(1) Monitoring and management.--On request of a covered
entity that is party to an agreement entered into under
subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service, shall provide to that covered entity technical
assistance requested with respect to the monitoring and
management of mountain pine beetle infestations, including with
respect to--
(A) detection;
(B) spread dynamics; and
(C) mitigation strategies.
(2) Workforce and wood processing.--On request of a covered
entity that is party to an agreement entered into under
subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Under Secretary for Rural Development, shall provide to
that covered entity technical assistance requested with respect
to--
(A) workforce capacity;
(B) wood processing infrastructure;
(C) market creation and development for the
byproducts of beetle kill or infested trees,
including--
(i) mass timber;
(ii) facilitating wood energy innovation;
and
(iii) affordable housing construction; and
(D) other matters relating to processing beetle
kill or infested trees.
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