Sec. 204. Environmental review

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The Secretaries shall ensure that policies, training, and programs of the Secretaries are consistent with this subsection— to facilitate greater use of prescribed fire; and to address public health and safety, including impacts from smoke from prescribed fires. When a smoke-sensitive facility or vulnerable individual is identified in an area to be impacted by smoke from a prescribed fire, the Secretaries may expend funding appropriated for hazardous fuel reduction to mitigate the impacts of the prescribed fire.

The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with Federal and State land management agencies, shall coordinate with State, Tribal, and local air quality agencies that regulate smoke under the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) to facilitate the use of prescribed fire on Federal land and State, Tribal, and private land, including by— streamlining the decisionmaking process for approving the use of prescribed fire under a State, Tribal, or local government smoke management program; and promoting basic smoke management practices; disseminating information about basic smoke management practices; and educating landowners that use prescribed fire about the importance of— using basic smoke management practices; and including basic smoke management practices as a component of a burn plan.

Subject to subparagraph (C), the appropriate State or Tribal air quality agency shall develop and submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency a demonstration in accordance with section 50.14 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), if— the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, a State land management agency, or an Indian Tribe conducts a prescribed fire on Federal land or State land, as applicable, in accordance with a State or Tribal smoke management program that incorporates basic smoke management practices; and the prescribed fire described in clause

(i)contributes to an exceedance or other violation of a national ambient air quality standard under section 109 of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7409 ), as measured using a Federal reference monitor or an equivalent method. For an exceedance or other violation described in clause

(ii)of subparagraph (A), the Secretary or Secretary of Agriculture, with the concurrence of the State or Tribal air quality agency, may assist with the development of the demonstration under that subparagraph. Subparagraph

(A)shall not apply if the exceedance or other violation described in clause

(ii)of that subparagraph is the result of— a violation of a smoke management program; a failure to use basic smoke management practices; or a violation of applicable permit conditions. Consistent with subsection

(b)of section 118 of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7418 ), a prescribed fire conducted on Federal land by the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture that burns more than 1,000 acres per day shall be deemed to be in the paramount interest of the United States and shall be exempt from requirements with respect to the control of pollution from Federal facilities under that Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) if the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the prescribed fire— will be conducted in an area where the terrain or fuel load makes the area inaccessible or unsafe for firefighting personnel; is necessary to reduce hazardous fuels; will be conducted to minimize smoke impacts on populated areas through the use of basic smoke management practices; and will be conducted under a smoke management program, if applicable. If the Secretary concerned conducts a prescribed fire that is deemed to be in the paramount interest of the United States under subparagraph

(A)on Federal land, a prescribed fire conducted by a State land management agency on State or private land that is contiguous to that Federal land shall be exempt from any applicable national ambient air quality standards under section 109 of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7409 ). Consistent with subsection

(b)of section 118 of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7418 ), a prescribed fire conducted on Tribal land by an Indian Tribe that burns more than 1,000 acres per day shall be deemed to be in the paramount interest of the United States and shall be exempt from requirements with respect to the control of pollution from Federal facilities under that Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) if the Indian Tribe determines that the prescribed fire— will be conducted in an area where the terrain or fuel load makes the area inaccessible or unsafe for firefighting personnel; is necessary to reduce hazardous fuels; will be conducted to minimize smoke impacts on populated areas through the use of basic smoke management practices; and will be conducted under a smoke management program, if applicable. Consistent with section 118(b) of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7418(b) )— an exemption granted under this paragraph shall apply to the applicable entity for a period of not more than 1 year; and on a new determination of the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, or an Indian Tribe under subparagraph

(A)or (C), as applicable, additional exemptions under this paragraph may be granted for subsequent periods after the expiration of the exemption described in clause (i), each of which shall apply for a period of not more than 1 year. Notwithstanding section 110 of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7410 ), when approving a State or Tribal implementation plan under that section, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may not approve any standards with respect to— preventing nuisance impacts that result from prescribed fires that incorporate basic smoke management practices; or criteria pollutants that result from prescribed fires that are more stringent than what is required to meet the national ambient air quality standards for those pollutants under section 109 of that Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7409 ), as measured using a Federal reference monitor or an equivalent method. A State or Indian Tribe may not enforce standards in a State or Tribal implementation plan that was approved under the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) before the date of enactment of this Act with respect to— preventing nuisance impacts that result from prescribed fires that incorporate basic smoke management practices; or criteria pollutants that result from prescribed fires that are more stringent than what is required to meet the national ambient air quality standards for those pollutants under section 109 of that Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7409 ), as measured using a Federal reference monitor or an equivalent method. If a State or Tribal implementation plan under section 110 of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7410 ) is revised to include a smoke management program for prescribed fires in that implementation plan, subsection

(l)of that section shall not apply with respect to that revision. The Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable, shall conduct an evaluation to facilitate learning new approaches for predicting and preventing exceedances during subsequent prescribed fires if the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture— conducts a prescribed fire on Federal land— for which a demonstration is developed and submitted under paragraph (4)(A); or that is subject to an exemption under paragraph (5)(A); and the prescribed fire described in subparagraph

(A)contributes to an exceedance of a national ambient air quality standard under section 109 of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7409 ). To address the public health and safety risk of the expanded use of prescribed fire under this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall conduct research to improve or develop— wildland fire smoke prediction models; smoke impact display tools for the public and decisionmakers; appropriate, cost-effective, and consistent mitigation strategies for communities impacted adversely by smoke from prescribed fire; consistent nationally and scientifically supported messages regarding personal protection equipment for the public; and prescribed fire activity tracking and emission inventory systems. The purpose of this subsection is to require the Secretaries to develop a series of categorical exclusions from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for implementing prescribed fires in accordance with this subsection. The Secretaries shall— gather and evaluate all of the decision memos, decision notices, and records of decision and associated findings of no significant impact or environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) prepared for recent prescribed fire projects; review any documented environmental impacts of those prescribed fire projects, if the Secretaries monitored or evaluated the effects of the implemented actions; and develop findings of— similarities and differences among prescribed fire projects; and elements and mitigation measures that consistently appeared in those prescribed fire projects that did not individually or cumulatively have a significant impact on the environment. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall publish in the Federal Register for public review and comment a series of notices of proposed categorical exclusions from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for implementing prescribed fire projects in, at a minimum, the following forest types: Longleaf pine forest. Shortleaf pine forest. Ponderosa pine forest. Pinyon-juniper forest. Dry-site Douglas-fir forest. Chaparral shrubland. The Secretaries shall apply the extraordinary circumstances procedures under section 220.6 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), in determining whether to use a categorical exclusion established under this subsection. On Oregon and California Railroad grant land revested in the United States by the Act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218, chapter 137), the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, shall— implement not fewer than 2 impact demonstration projects to assess the environmental effects of prescribed fires; monitor the actual environmental effects during and after that implementation; and evaluate the merits of using a categorical exclusion from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for prescribed fires on that land.

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Sec. 204

Environmental review

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