[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7810-S7811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN:
  S. 3908. A bill to ensure that private property, public safety, and 
human life are protected from flood hazards that directly result from 
post-fire watershed conditions that are created by wildfires on Federal 
land; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation that 
would assist several communities in northern Arizona, and any other 
community in the United States, whose homes were damaged or destroyed 
in flash flood event caused by wildfires on federal lands. I am 
saddened to report that the flood in Arizona which is the genesis of 
this bill also killed a 12-year-old girl and caused an estimated $8 
million in damage to the area's public infrastructure. While the flood 
itself occurred on July 20, 2010, the true account of this disaster 
actually began one month prior with a wildfire on the Coconino National 
Forest. The human-caused ``Schultz Fire'' severely burned 15,000 acres 
of forest land along the steep terrain of the San Francisco Peaks 
leaving little ground vegetation to absorb and hold back rainwater. 
After the fire was contained, the U.S. Forest Service quickly 
determined that residents living near the base of the Peaks would face 
a daily flooding threat from summer monsoon storms and publically urged 
them to purchase flood insurance. Less than two weeks later, a monsoon 
storm created a flash flood of rainwater, mud and wildfire debris that 
slammed into the homes below the Schultz burn area. Tragically, the 
affected homeowners who had purchased flood insurance as soon as they 
were alerted to the danger of flooding were deemed ineligible for 
coverage because Federal law mandates a 30-day waiting period before 
the policy takes effect.
  This August I had an opportunity to tour the Schultz Fire burn and 
flood areas and also met with several affected homeowners. Needless to 
say they are deeply concerned that their homes remain threatened with 
every severe storm that passes through. This rural unincorporated 
community simply does not have the resources to cope

[[Page S7811]]

with a flood plain that didn't exist before the wildfire. While we were 
able to get a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team to study and recommend 
some interim and long-term flood mitigation measures, much work remains 
to be done including additional soil and hydrological data collection 
which would assist in the planning and design of more permanent flood 
control projects.
  This legislation would enable the FEMA Administrator to waive the 30-
day waiting period for flood insurance for private property owners 
affected by wildfires. This bill would also clarify that the recently 
created FLAME Act Accounts, which were established by Congress to pay 
for wildfire supersession, can also be used for burn area recovery, 
including post-fire watershed flood prevention. With respect to the 
Schultz Fire, the bill would enhance coordination between the Army 
Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other 
Federal, State and local government agencies by establishing a Schultz 
Fire Flood Area Task Force headed by the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency. This bill would also direct FEMA to 
complete a detailed study of the affected area to evaluate the 
potential of integrating various federal projects and programs into a 
long-term flood protection system. Finally, this bill would require 
that the Attorney General disclose any payments made under the Equal 
Access to Justice Act program that went to activist litigants who 
blocked the forest thinning project that many experts agree would have 
prevented the Schultz Fire from occurring.
  The flood risk to this community will remain high for many years 
unless action is taken now. I strongly believe that because the Schultz 
Fire occurred on Federal land, the Federal Government is obligated to 
provide an appropriate level of disaster assistance, including Federal 
flood insurance, to these homeowners. I urge my colleagues to support 
this bill.
                                 ______