Sec. 5. Restoration and resilience grant program
660 words·~3 min read·
/bill/119/s/670/is/section-5A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The purposes of this section are— to increase the capacity for— planning, coordinating, and monitoring restoration and resilience projects on non-Federal land; and providing support for collaboration and monitoring on Federal land; and to support, on non-Federal land— restoration and resilience projects; efforts to improve wildfire resistive construction and reduce risks within the home ignition zone; and projects to expand equitable outdoor access. There is established a restoration and resilience grant program, to be administered by the Secretary, with the guidance of the Council, to provide grants or pay-for-performance contracts from the Fund to eligible entities for the purposes described in subsection (a).
The Secretary and the Council shall, to the maximum extent practicable— seek input from and coordinate with State or regional efforts, initiatives, and partnerships to restore ecological integrity on Federal land and non-Federal land; and complement or support existing State or regional efforts, initiatives, and partnerships to restore ecological integrity on Federal land and non-Federal land. The Secretary shall use amounts in the Fund to provide capacity grants or pay-for-performance contracts under paragraph
(2)and implementation grants or pay-for-performance contracts under paragraph (3). Capacity grants or pay-for-performance contracts shall be made available to eligible entities for the purpose described in subsection (a)(1). A grant or pay-for-performance contract under this paragraph may only be made to an eligible entity that submits to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing or accompanied by such additional information as the Secretary, in consultation with the Council, may require, including the information required under clause (ii). An application submitted under clause
(i)shall contain— a clear and concise expression of interest; an explanation for how funds would complement existing Federal funds; a description of how the proposed planning, coordinating, or monitoring of restoration and resilience projects would be carried out in accordance with the best available ecological restoration science; and an estimate of the number and duration of jobs that provide capacity to carry out restoration and resilience projects that would be created, or sustained, with the funds. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall provide grant-writing training and mentoring opportunities for lower-capacity, less collaborative experience, or underserved communities and organizations to help lower the barriers to participation in, and create more inclusion in and opportunities under, the grant program. Implementation grants or pay-for-performance contracts shall be made available to eligible entities for the purpose described in subsection (a)(2). A grant or pay-for-performance contract under this paragraph may be made only to an eligible entity that submits to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing or accompanied by such information as the Secretary, in consultation with the Council, may require. The Secretary may waive matching requirements under covered authorities for applicants for grants or pay-for-performance contracts under this paragraph representing lower-capacity, less collaborative experience, or underserved communities and organizations and rural communities. In carrying out the grant program, the Secretary, in consultation with the Council, shall give priority to projects that would— create or sustain jobs, employ local or regional labor, or expand the outdoor workforce to provide capacity to carry out restoration and resilience projects or equitable outdoor access through training and education programs; be developed through a collaborative process, relying on the best available social ecological restoration science, with multiple stakeholders representing diverse interests; address shared priorities for Federal and non-Federal partners; advance State, local, and Tribal plans relating to forests, water, wildlife, or equitable outdoor access; utilize watershed data analytics to quantify, prioritize, and measure expected outcomes from proposed restoration activities; be carried out by or in lower-capacity, less collaborative experience, or underserved communities and organizations; or improve long-term economic security in the geographic region through restoration and resilience projects, equitable outdoor access, and the indirect benefits of those projects and access, particularly in geographic regions transitioning from fossil-fuel extraction. Eligible entities may use existing authorities when carrying out a restoration and resilience project, including a covered authority.