[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 174 (Monday, December 5, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7159-H7160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PRESCRIBED BURN APPROVAL ACT OF 2016
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(S. 3395) to require limitations on prescribed burns.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3395
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 ``Prescribed Burn Approval Act
of 2016''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) National fire danger rating system.--The term
``national fire danger rating system'' means the national
system used to provide a measure of fire danger according to
a range of low to moderate to high to very high to extreme.
(2) Prescribed burn.--The term ``prescribed burn'' means a
planned fire intentionally ignited.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest
Service.
SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON PRESCRIBED BURNS.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
Secretary shall not authorize a prescribed burn on Forest
Service land if, for the county or contiguous county in which
the land is located, the national fire danger rating system
indicates an extreme fire danger level.
(b) Exception.--The Secretary may authorize a prescribed
burn under a condition described in subsection (a) if the
Secretary coordinates with the applicable State government
and local fire officials.
(c) Report.--At the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a report describing--
(1) the number and locations of prescribed burns during
that fiscal year; and
(2) each prescribed burn during that fiscal year that was
authorized by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.
General Leave
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Oklahoma?
There was no objection.
{time} 1730
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of S. 3395, the Prescribed Burn Approval Act
of 2016.
Across much of the country, Forest Service land borders private lands
that are essential to the livelihood of farmers, ranchers, and
foresters. While the Forest Service is tasked with managing these
lands, many techniques are effective but carry risk.
On April 3, 2013, the Forest Service conducted a controlled burn on
the Dakota Prairie Grasslands intended for 130 acres. As weather
conditions changed, the fire escaped its boundary and burned 16,000
acres of private land. The prescribed burn planned by Federal officials
resulted in millions of dollars in damage to private lands in South
Dakota, with ranchers losing valuable pasture, hay, fence, and
structures.
In the aftermath of the fire, the Office of the General Counsel of
USDA determined that the Forest Service had done nothing out of line
and claimed no responsibility to those harmed by this carelessness.
This commonsense piece of legislation that we are addressing today,
simply put, would require the Forest Service to conduct prescribed
burns only when the national fire rating system indicates that it is
safe to do so in that county and contiguous counties.
Furthermore, this bill will encourage greater collaboration with
local officials, helping to mitigate more of the risk to private lands.
We all strive to be good neighbors and hope our neighbors will do the
same. With passage, this bill gives many neighbors to the Forest
Service additional certainty, and I urge your support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC, December 1, 2016.
Hon. K. Michael Conaway,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I write regarding S. 3395, the
Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016. This bill contains
provisions under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Natural
Resources.
I recognize and appreciate your desire to bring this bill
before the House of Representatives in an expeditious manner,
and accordingly, I will agree that the Committee on Natural
Resources be discharged from further consideration of the
bill. I do so with the understanding that this action does
not affect the jurisdiction of the Committee on Natural
Resources.
I also ask that a copy of this letter and your response be
included in the Congressional Record during consideration of
S. 3395 on the House floor.
Thank you for your work on this important issue, and I look
forward to its enactment soon.
Sincerely,
Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC, December 1, 2016.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Bishop: I am writing concerning S. 3395, the
Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016. The bill was agreed to
in the Senate on November 17, 2016, and was referred in the
House primarily to the Committee on Agriculture, with an
additional referral to the Committee on Natural Resources.
I ask that you allow the Committee on Natural Resources to
be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that
it may be scheduled by the Majority Leader. This discharge in
no way affects your Committee's jurisdiction over the subject
matter of
[[Page H7160]]
the bill, and it will not serve as precedent for future
referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bill be
necessary, I would support your request to have the Committee
on Natural Resources represented on the conference committee.
Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter and any
response in Congressional Record to memorialize our mutual
understanding.
Thank you for your consideration and for your continued
cooperation between our committees.
Sincerely,
K. Michael Conaway,
Chairman.
Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016, S. 3395, will
help alleviate unintentional disasters when prescribed burns don't go
exactly as planned. This is commonsense legislation, and I urge my
colleagues to vote in support of it.
Prescribed burns are an important tool used by the Forest Service to
help manage our national forests and grasslands. However, there is the
risk of damage to nearby private property when prescribed burns get out
of control, which happened, as was described recently, in the upper
Midwest.
This bill will allow the Forest Service to continue to use prescribed
burns while taking practical steps to prevent disasters. S. 3395
prohibits the Forest Service from utilizing prescribed burns in areas
of high fire risk, unless the Forest Service coordinates with State
governments and local officials.
Having local officials and responders aware of activities can help
them be prepared and equipped to assist, if necessary. Frankly, this is
something I would hope the Forest Service is already doing, but this
bill is a good step. It will make sure that it happens in the future.
Again, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
South Dakota (Mrs. Noem), who not only understands these issues but
lives these issues.
Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding to me
today.
Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of S. 3395, the Prescribed Burn
Approval Act. This is a commonsense bill that will prohibit the U.S.
Forest Service from authorizing prescribed burns in an area that is
labeled an extreme fire danger except under circumstances that have
local coordination. Unfortunately, we have seen instances where the
Forest Service has acted recklessly by starting prescribed burns under
extremely hazardous conditions.
The Pautre fire in South Dakota is one such example. Despite the hot
and windy conditions and being warned repeatedly from local ranchers
and local officials that it was too windy and too dry to be starting a
controlled burn, the Forest Service still carried out a prescribed burn
that was intended to cover just 130 acres of dead crested wheatgrass.
Within hours, the fire escalated out of control. More than 10,000
acres of Forest Service land, grazing association controlled land, and
private land was consumed by the wildfire. Millions of dollars of
damage was done not only to the land but to fences and families.
Families were devastated.
Multiple firefighting units and personnel were put in harm's way.
This burn should not have occurred that day without the collaboration
and additional precautions that such a burn will require. It should
happen in consultation with local officials and those who know the land
best, those who live on the land and work the land each and every day--
local farmers and ranchers.
It only makes sense that the Forest Service has the responsibility to
coordinate with local and State fire officials in circumstances where
the threat of wildfire is high. This bill is a step in the right
direction to make certain that necessary precautions are taken.
Furthermore, this bill would add transparency and a degree of
accountability to the Forest Service's actions by ensuring that
Congress is aware of the prescribed burns that are done under hazardous
conditions.
I would like to thank Senator Thune for his work on this bill and the
chairman for bringing this bill forward.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor.
Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
It is worth noting that before there were ever farmers and ranchers
on the plains, before Coronado ever came up from the south, or Lewis
and Clark crossed through the north, and even before our Native
American friends first appeared in North America fire has been an
important management tool in the ecosystem of the Great Plains--whether
the northern plains where my colleague, Mrs. Noem, lives or the
southern plains where I live--an important tool. Maintaining the health
of the grasslands, addressing the woody plants that are invasive, this
is an important tool.
This is why today we rise together to ask for our colleagues to vote
for this bill, to provide the ability for everyone who occupies the
plains to comfortably work together to use this tool to maintain the
health of the Great Plains.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join us in passing the
bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 3395.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________