Healthy Forests Restoration Amendments Act of 2009 - Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to expand the purposes of the Act to include providing for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of forest ecosystem components to protect infrastructure in rural communities.
Expands federal land areas eligible for hazardous fuel reduction projects.
Repeals the total federal land acreage limitation on authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects.
Revises requirements regarding the alternative analysis process for authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects in the wildland-urban interface. Bars the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior from being required to study, develop, or describe more than the proposed agency action and a no action alternative in an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement for specified proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4233 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4233
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to expand the
areas of Federal land on which hazardous fuel reduction projects may be
conducted under that Act, to add protection of infrastructure in rural
communities as an additional purpose of that Act, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 8, 2009
Ms. Herseth Sandlin (for herself, Mr. Walden, Mr. Baird, Mrs. McMorris
Rodgers, and Mr. Schrader) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the
Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to expand the
areas of Federal land on which hazardous fuel reduction projects may be
conducted under that Act, to add protection of infrastructure in rural
communities as an additional purpose of that Act, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Healthy Forests Restoration
Amendments Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PURPOSE OF ACT.
Section 2(6) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16
U.S.C. 6501(6)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C)
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(D) to protect infrastructure in rural
communities.''.
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.
Section 101(16)(A) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003
(16 U.S.C. 6511(16)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``protection
plan'' the following: ``, as established in the manner described in
section 101(3)''.
SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF FEDERAL LAND ELIGIBLE FOR HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION
PROJECTS.
(a) Covered Lands.--Section 102(a) of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6512(a)) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting
``necessary connected actions (as described in section
1508.25(a)1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations), and
forest and rangeland health restoration,'' after ``hazardous
fuels reduction projects,'';
(2) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) and inserting
the following new paragraphs:
``(2) condition class 2 or condition class 3 Federal land
located within fire regime I, fire regime II, or fire regime
III;
``(3) Federal land on which windthrow or blowdown, ice
storm damage, the existence of an infestation of disease or
insects, or the presence of such an infestation on immediately
adjacent land and the risk it will spread, poses a significant
threat to a forest or rangeland resource on the Federal land or
adjacent non-Federal land; and''; and
(3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4) and, in
such paragraph, by striking ``paragraphs (1) through (4)'' and
inserting ``paragraphs (1) through (3)''.
(b) Acreage Limitation.--Section 102 of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6512) is amended by striking
subsection (c).
SEC. 5. FUNDING PRIORITIES.
Section 103(d)(1)(A) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003
(16 U.S.C. 6513(d)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``interface''
the following: ``, as established in the manner described in section
101(3)''.
SEC. 6. ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.
Subsection (d) of section 104 of the Healthy Forests Restoration
Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6514) is amended to read as follows:
``(d) Alternative Analysis Process for Projects in Wildland-Urban
Interface.--
``(1) Proposed agency action and no action alternative.--
The Secretary is not required to study, develop, or describe
more than the proposed agency action and a no action
alternative in the environmental assessment or environmental
impact statement prepared pursuant to section 102(2) of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2))
for an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project that is
proposed to be conducted--
``(A) in the wildland-urban interface, as
established in the manner described in section 101(3);
``(B) if subparagraph (A) does not apply, in the
wildland-urban interface located no further than 1\1/2\
miles from the boundary of an at-risk community; or
``(C) on Federal land identified as condition class
2 or condition class 3 and not withdrawn in this Act.
``(2) Additional alternative.--If an at-risk community has
adopted a community wildfire protection plan in the manner
described in section 101(3) and the proposed agency action for
an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project does not
implement the recommendations in the plan regarding the general
location and basic method of treatments, the Secretary shall
evaluate the recommendations in the plan as an additional
alternative to the proposed agency action in the environmental
assessment or environmental impact statement prepared pursuant
to section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)).''.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to House Agriculture
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to House Natural Resources
Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
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