[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 176 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8280-H8282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PILOT PROGRAM ACT OF 2017
Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2921) to establish a vegetation management pilot program on
National Forest System land to better protect utility infrastructure
from passing wildfire, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2921
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 ``National Forest System
Vegetation Management Pilot Program Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE RIGHTS-OF-WAY VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Pilot Program Required.--To encourage owners or
operators of rights-of-way on National Forest System land to
partner with the Forest Service to voluntarily perform
vegetation management on a proactive basis to better protect
utility infrastructure from potential passing wildfires, the
Secretary shall conduct a limited, voluntary pilot program,
in the manner described in this section, to permit vegetation
management projects on National Forest System land adjacent
to or near such rights-of-way.
(b) Eligible Participants.--A participant in the pilot
program must have a right-of-way on National Forest System
land. In selecting participants, the Secretary shall give
priority to holders of a right-of-way who have worked with
Forest Service fire scientists and used technologies, such as
Light Detection and Ranging surveys, to improve utility
infrastructure protection prescriptions.
(c) Project Elements.--A vegetation management project
under the pilot program involves limited and selective
vegetation management activities, which--
(1) shall create the least amount of disturbance reasonably
necessary to protect utility infrastructure from passing
wildfires based on applicable models, including Forest
Service fuel models;
(2) may include thinning, fuel reduction, creation and
treatment of shaded fuel breaks, and other measures as
appropriate;
(3) shall only take place adjacent to the participant's
right-of-way or within 75 feet of the participant's right-of-
way;
(4) shall not take place in any designated wilderness area,
wilderness study area, or inventoried roadless area; and
(5) shall be subject to approval by the Forest Service in
accordance with this Act.
(d) Project Costs.--A participant in the pilot program
shall be responsible for all costs, as determined by the
Secretary, incurred in participating in the pilot program,
unless the Secretary determines that it is in the public
interest for the Forest Service to contribute funds for a
vegetation management project conducted under the pilot
program.
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(e) Liability.--
(1) In general.--Participation in the pilot program does
not affect any existing legal obligations or liability
standards that--
(A) arise under the right-of-way for activities in the
right-of-way; or
(B) apply to fires resulting from causes other than
activities conducted pursuant to an approved vegetation
management project.
(2) Project work.--A participant shall not be liable to the
United States for damage proximately caused by activities
conducted pursuant to an approved vegetation management
project unless--
(A) such activities were carried out in a manner that was
grossly negligent or that violated criminal law; or
(B) the damage was caused by the failure of the participant
to comply with specific safety requirements expressly imposed
by the Forest Service as a condition of participating in the
pilot program.
(f) Implementation.--The Secretary shall utilize existing
laws and regulations in the conduct of the pilot program and,
in order to implement the pilot program in an efficient and
expeditious manner, may waive or modify specific provisions
of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, including
modifications to allow for formation of contracts or
agreements on a noncompetitive basis.
(g) Treatment of Proceeds.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary may--
(1) retain any funds provided to the Forest Service by a
participant in the pilot program; and
(2) use such funds, in such amounts as may be appropriated,
in the conduct of the pilot program.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) National forest system land.--The term ``National
Forest System land'' means land within the National Forest
System, as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.
1609(a)) exclusive of the National Grasslands and land
utilization projects designated as National Grasslands
administered pursuant to the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C.
1010-1012).
(2) Passing wildfire.--The term ``passing wildfire'' means
a wildfire that originates outside the right-of-way.
(3) Right-of-way.--The term ``right-of-way'' means a
special use authorization issued by the Forest Service
allowing the placement of utility infrastructure.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(5) Utility infrastructure.--The term ``utility
infrastructure'' means electric transmission lines, natural
gas infrastructure, or related structures.
(i) Duration.--The authority to conduct the pilot program,
and any vegetation management project under the pilot
program, expires December 21, 2027.
(j) Report to Congress.--Not later than December 31, 2019,
and every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall issue a
report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate, the Committee on Natural Resources of
the House of Representatives, and the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives on the status of
the program and any projects established under this section.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Crawford) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days 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 Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2921, the National Forest
System Vegetation Management Pilot Program Act of 2017. This
legislation authorizes the U.S. Forest Service to create a pilot
program to assist in the management of our Federal forests to reduce
wildfire risk and associated costs. These management pilot projects are
approved by the Forest Service, but will be conducted and paid for by
the private sector.
This collaborative approach will ensure a more stable power grid for
Americans in rural areas. Deteriorating forest health is a problem felt
across the United States, particularly in the West. This has resulted
in increased fire threats to the electric transmission and associated
utility infrastructures across the Forest Service land.
The Government Accountability Office has found that fuel reduction
treatment projects reduce flammable vegetation, minimize the severity
of wildland fires, create landscape resiliency to fire, and provide
firefighter access during fire suppression activities.
Utility infrastructure destroyed by a fire or a fallen dead tree is
costly to repair or replace, and outages can result in significant
economic costs to businesses and homes.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to
allow utilities to collaborate with the Forest Service to keep the
lights on in rural communities, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 2921, the National Forest System
Vegetation Management Pilot Program Act of 2017.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2921 is a bipartisan bill that would help protect
electric transmission lines from forest fires and other potential
forest management issues. The bill creates voluntary pilot project
authority for the U.S. Forest Service to partner with the private
sector to proactively undertake limited and selective vegetation
management projects near utility infrastructure.
These pilot projects include, but are not limited to, things like
tree thinning and fuel reduction, which would help to alleviate some of
the risk of forest fires and enhance electric reliability.
H.R. 2921 requires that all projects comply with existing
environmental laws.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
North Dakota (Mr. Cramer).
Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
It is no secret that a reliable supply of electricity is important to
us on many levels, from human health, and, of course, to commercial
productivity.
As a former public service commissioner, I can tell you that one of
the main reasons for large outages is trees growing in power lines. And
one of the reasons for forest fires, oftentimes, is power lines falling
in the forest. Fires get to the power lines; power lines create fires.
This bill, I think, helps alleviate some of that.
With consumers and regulators demanding, of course, reliable service,
and a utility company's natural incentive to keep the sale of electrons
flowing, vegetation management has improved tremendously over the
years. However, deep within the lands that are managed by our Federal
agencies, the potential for problems persists.
My bill creates a pilot program, as the chairman described, for
utility companies to partner with the Forest Service to voluntarily
perform vegetation management proactively. Under Forest Service
approval, utilities can propose a plan to selectively manage vegetation
within 75 feet of the right-of-way with the least amount of
disturbances as reasonably possible, and outside of designated
wilderness areas is a very important point.
All of that work would be paid for by the utility company, not by the
Federal Government. Currently, this offer of right-of-way work is the
responsibility of the government, and with a strict liability standard,
Mr. Speaker, to any utility company to step in and help. There is not
an incentive--in fact, there is a disincentive for them to do so. So
under the pilot program, these activities will be subject to a more
appropriate standard of liability, a gross negligence standard, along
with any specific safety requirements imposed under the programs in
agreement with the Forest Service.
It removes the barrier for utility companies to carry out this
important work not currently being done by them, to reduce direct
impacts to damage utility infrastructure, and the amount of fuel for
possible forest fires.
There is a lot of bipartisan support for this. I appreciate my
friends in the more mountainous and more forested regions than the
prairies of North Dakota on both side of the aisle. I know there is
good support in the Senate as well.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important
bill.
Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage
of H.R. 2921, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by
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the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2921.
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.
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