Sec. 405. Joint Office of the Fire Environment Center (Report Recommendations 104, 105, 106)
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Not later than a 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall establish a joint office, which shall be known as the Joint Office of the Fire Environment Center . The Joint Office shall be comprised of the following branches: Technology and Engineering, which shall— focus on modeling and the building and testing of technology; and may enter into public-private partnerships. Data Services, which shall— be responsible for testing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to support managers, firefighters, and public health officials on the ground, including producing decision consequence data, modeling risk, and suggesting resources based on fire and smoke conditions at the time and place of ignition detection; and working with State, local, and Tribal entities on data sharing.
Analysis and Prediction. Education and Consultation, which shall be responsible for incident management. Any other branch determined necessary or appropriate by the Board. The Joint Office shall make available any products and information developed by the Joint Office to— geographic area coordination centers; incident management teams; land managers; air quality and water provider agencies; State, local, and Tribal governments; and public health agencies. The Joint Office shall provide real-time, science-based, and data-rich scientific and technical analytic services, decision support, and predictive services to inform land and fuels management, community risk reduction, and fire management and response, including the following:
Prefire mitigation and risk reduction activities for landscapes and communities, including through assessments and modeling of— climate condition; fuels; home ignition; structure-to-structure spread; and values at risk. Activities that better protect public health and safety during and after a fire, including mapping services and data provision to support evacuation decisions in communities at risk and air quality monitoring and forecast data to support health risk information that helps protect the public from smoke impacts associated with fire.
Fire response and management, including— response preparedness and initial attack readiness for new fires; deployment of response resources; and firefighter movement decisions during active fire management. Postfire activities, including— vegetation recovery; debris flows and flooding; watershed protection; and ecosystem health. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in coordination with each of the agencies specified in subparagraphs
(B)through
(J)of subsection (c)(1), shall operate as a collective entity to produce accessible products and services for a variety of users and uses in fire management, including by— developing timely, manager-focused models, technologies, assessments, and forecasts to support fire operational decisionmaking, and short- and long-term fire planning; and integrating the existing specialties of the constituent land management, community preparedness, and public health agencies. The Joint Office shall develop a technological common operating environment for practitioners across the spectrum of risk mitigation, prescribed fire, response, and postdisaster response to shepherd the creation of highly dynamic decision support tools. The Joint Office shall ensure that public health information that is essential to integrate into this common operating environment is provided to ensure its products accurately reflect the depth and breadth of the wildfire issues. Information provided shall include air quality data and forecasts and information pertaining to the built environment. The Joint Office shall be governed by a board, comprised of 12 members, as follows: One member who is a career employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, appointed by the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. One member who is a career employee of the United States Fire Administration, appointed by the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration. One member who is a career employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, appointed by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. One member who is a career employee of the National Weather Service, appointed by the Director of the National Weather Service. One member who is a career employee of the Forest Service, appointed by the Chief of the Forest Service. One member who is a career employee of the Department of the Interior, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. One member who is a career employee of the Bureau of Land Management, appointed by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. One member who is a career employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, appointed by the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. One member who is a career employee of the National Park Service, appointed by the Director of the National Park Service. One member who is a career employee of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, appointed by the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Two members who are non-Federal representatives of the wildfire community, appointed by the Board. There initial terms can be 1 year each. Each member shall be appointed for a term of 5 years, except as provided in paragraphs
(2)and (3). Of the members first appointed— the members appointed under subparagraphs (I), (J), and
(K)of paragraph
(1)shall be appointed for terms of 1 year; the members appointed under subparagraphs
(D)and
(G)of paragraph
(1)shall be appointed for terms of 2 years; the members appointed under subparagraphs
(F)and
(H)of paragraph
(1)shall be appointed for terms of 3 years; and the members appointed under subparagraphs
(C)and
(E)of paragraph
(1)shall be appointed for terms of 4 years. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term. A member may serve after the expiration of that member’s term until a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the Board shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. Members of the Board who are career employees of the United States may not receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Board. Each member shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 7 members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board shall be elected by the members of the Board. The term of office of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall be 1 year. The Board shall meet at least quarterly and at a call of a majority of its members. The Joint Office shall have a Director who shall be appointed by the Board. To the extent or in the amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the Director shall be paid at a rate of basic pay not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule. The budget and decisionmaking authority for the Joint Office is vested in the Director. With the approval of the Board, the Director may appoint a Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. With the approval of the Board, the Director may appoint at least 100 personnel and may appoint such additional personnel as the Director considers appropriate. The Director and staff of the Joint Office shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates. With the approval of the Joint Office, the Director may procure temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay under the General Schedule. Upon request of the Director, the head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Joint Office to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act. The Joint Office may contract with and compensate government and private agencies or persons for supplies and services. In carrying out its functions under this section, the Joint Office is encouraged to consult with and share relevant data with the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautical and Space Agency, the United States Geological Survey, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: The term Joint Office means the Joint Office of the Fire Environment Center established under subsection (a)(1). The term Board means the Board of the Joint Office established by subsection (c). The term Director means the Director of the Joint Office required by subsection (d). There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out this section $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034.