Sec. 101. Prescribed fire accounts
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/bill/118/s/4424/is/section-101·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In this section, the term Secretary concerned means— the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to an account established by this section for the Department of Agriculture; and the Secretary, with respect to an account established by this section for the Department of the Interior. There are established in the Treasury of the United States the following accounts: The Prescribed Fire account for the Department of Agriculture. The Prescribed Fire account for the Department of the Interior. There is authorized to be appropriated to the accounts established by subsection
(b)a total of $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter. For fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, each Secretary concerned shall submit, in the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the budget of the relevant Department for each fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code)— a request for amounts in the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account of the Secretary concerned to carry out the activities described in subsection (e); and an accounting of costs with respect to prescribed fire, by region of the National Forest System or the Department of the Interior, as applicable, for the previous 3 years, including— the amount spent on prescribed fire; the number of acres treated with prescribed fire; and the number of personnel dedicated to carrying out prescribed fire. The Secretary concerned shall use amounts in the accounts established by subsection (b)— to develop, in coordination with State, local, and Tribal governments, a prescribed fire operational strategy for each region of the National Forest System or the Department of the Interior, as applicable, specifically for using funding provided through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( Public Law 117–58 ; 135 Stat. 429) and other additional sources of funding, that describes— the fire deficit by region; staffing and funding needs; plans to apply prescribed fire; and regional targets to demonstrate an increase in prescribed fire with respect to— existing programs; and activities carried out using additional funding sources; with respect to prescribed fires— to carry out necessary environmental reviews; to conduct outreach to the public, Indian Tribes and beneficiaries, and adjacent landowners; to conduct any required pre-ignition cultural and environmental surveys; and to implement prescribed fires on Federal land; to hire additional, dedicated personnel and procure additional equipment, including unmanned aerial systems equipped with an aerial ignition system, to implement a greater number of prescribed fires; to fund an increase in staffing (including in-person and hybrid staff) in order to provide training for the implementation of prescribed fire and management of smoke; to conduct post-prescribed fire activities, such as— reseeding to prevent the spread of invasive species; and recurring application of fire to maintain desired conditions; to conduct monitoring for safety and fire effects on ecosystem resilience and risk mitigation; and to use key performance indicators, including— the annual number of acres of National Forest System land or public lands, as applicable, where completed treatment effectively mitigates wildfire risk or maintains or restores ecological integrity with respect to— land in the wildland-urban interface; and land not in the wildland-urban interface; the number of acres in a desired condition as a result of fire management objectives, as determined by the Secretary concerned; the number of acres treated with prescribed fire and the quantity of emissions from prescribed fires; the number of acres where treatment results in changes in fire regime condition class; and the number of burns conducted by Indian Tribes or Indigenous-led organizations or pursuant to an agreement with an Indian Tribe or Indigenous-led organization. The Secretaries shall coordinate to jointly develop a common data management and analysis system for planning and post-treatment accountability. The Secretary concerned may— assist State, Tribal, local government, or private prescribed fire programs— to establish a training or certification program for teams comprised of citizens or local fire services to conduct prescribed fires on private land, consistent with any standards developed by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group or State prescribed fire standards; to enable additional fire managers and apparatus, whether provided by the local resources of an agency, private contractors, nongovernmental organizations, Indian Tribes, local fire services, or qualified individuals, to assist in implementing a prescribed fire; in funding the completion of the claims funds study under section 204; or to finance the implementation of a prescribed fire on State, Tribal, or private land and any post-prescribed fire activities as are determined to be necessary by the Secretary concerned; provide technical or financial assistance to a prescribed fire council or prescribed burn association for the establishment or operation of the council or association; and provide funding for the collaborative prescribed fire program established under section 103. Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned shall coordinate with Federal, State, and local agencies, Indian Tribes, and nongovernmental organizations, including through the Wildland Fire Leadership Council, to establish prioritization criteria for expending funds under this section for each activity described in subsection (e). In establishing criteria under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall give priority to a project that is— implemented across a large contiguous area; cross-boundary in nature; in an area that is— threatening to, or located in, the wildland-urban interface and identified as a priority area in a statewide forest resource assessment or Community Wildfire Protection Plan; or identified as important to the protection of a Tribal trust resource or the reserved or treaty rights of an Indian Tribe; on acres at high or very high risk of experiencing a wildfire that would be difficult to suppress; in an area that is designated as critical habitat and in need of ecological restoration or enhancement that can be achieved with the aid of prescribed fire; or supportive of potential operational delineations or a strategic response zone.
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- 135 Stat. 429
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