[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 350 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 350
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to select and implement
landscape-scale forest restoration projects, to assist communities in
increasing their resilience to wildfire, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 30, 2025
Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Daines) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to select and implement
landscape-scale forest restoration projects, to assist communities in
increasing their resilience to wildfire, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Wildfire Emergency
Act of 2025''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--LANDSCAPE-SCALE FOREST RESTORATION
Sec. 101. Definitions.
Sec. 102. Purpose.
Sec. 103. Conservation finance agreements.
Sec. 104. Report evaluating implementation.
TITLE II--INCREASING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TO WILDFIRE
Sec. 201. Critical infrastructure and microgrid program.
Sec. 202. Retrofits for fire-resilient communities.
Sec. 203. Wildfire detection, monitoring, and analysis equipment.
TITLE III--RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND CAPACITY BUILDING
Sec. 301. Western prescribed fire centers.
Sec. 302. Innovative forest workforce development program.
Sec. 303. National community capacity and land stewardship grant
program.
TITLE I--LANDSCAPE-SCALE FOREST RESTORATION
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Conservation finance agreement.--The term
``conservation finance agreement'' means a mutual benefit
agreement (excluding a procurement contract, grant, or
cooperative agreement described in chapter 63 of title 31,
United States Code) for a conservation finance project--
(A) the term of which is not less than 2, and not
more than 20, years;
(B) that may provide that performance under the
agreement during the second and subsequent years of the
agreement is contingent on the appropriation of funds
or receipt of collections; and
(C) that may provide for a cancellation payment to
be made to the conservation finance project developer
if those appropriations are not made or collections are
not received.
(2) Conservation finance project.--The term ``conservation
finance project'' means a project--
(A) conducted on National Forest System land and
may include land adjoining National Forest System land;
(B) that would--
(i) protect, restore, or improve National
Forest System land; and
(ii) use a conservation finance model that
employs a debt financing approach that uses
loaned capital from a conservation finance
project investor to cover up-front project
costs, with the loaned capital repaid over time
by conservation finance project beneficiaries;
and
(C) the purpose of which is to conduct ecological
restoration treatments that, at the time of selection
for a conservation finance agreement under the pilot
program established under section 103(a)--
(i) are conducted under the Collaborative
Forest Landscape Restoration Program
established under section 4003 of the Omnibus
Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C.
7303);
(ii)(I) were previously conducted under the
Program described in clause (i);
(II) are no longer eligible for funding
under that Program due to a time limitation
under subsection (b)(1)(B) or (d)(4)(B) of that
section; and
(III) are otherwise eligible for funding
under that Program;
(iii) are conducted by a water source
investment partnership established under
section 303(c) of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(c)); or
(iv) are conducted under the Joint Chiefs
Landscape Restoration Partnership Program
established under section 40808 of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16
U.S.C. 6592d).
(3) Conservation finance project beneficiary.--The term
``conservation finance project beneficiary'' means a nonprofit,
for-profit, or Federal, State, local, or Tribal governmental
entity or individual that--
(A) benefits from conservation finance project
outcomes; and
(B)(i) provides capital directly to fund a
conservation finance project; or
(ii) repays to a conservation finance project
investor up-front loaned capital for a conservation
finance project at a rate of return agreed to by the
entity or individual and the conservation finance
project investor.
(4) Conservation finance project developer.--The term
``conservation finance project developer'' means a nonprofit or
for-profit intermediary that assists in developing, financing,
funding, or implementing a conservation finance project.
(5) Conservation finance project investor.--The term
``conservation finance project investor'' means a nonprofit,
for-profit, or State, local, or Tribal governmental entity or
individual that provides up-front loaned capital for a
conservation finance project.
(6) Ecological integrity.--The term ``ecological
integrity'' has the meaning given the term in section 219.19 of
title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date
of enactment of this Act).
(7) Low-income community.--The term ``low-income
community'' has the meaning given the term in section 45D(e) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(8) Restoration.--The term ``restoration'' has the meaning
given the term in section 219.19 of title 36, Code of Federal
Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this
Act).
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(10) Wildland-urban interface.--The term ``wildland-urban
interface'' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
SEC. 102. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this title is to increase the pace and scale of
forest restoration and land management projects across the National
Forest System by--
(1) authorizing a pilot program with conservation finance
agreement authority to leverage other Federal and non-Federal
investment (in addition to funds appropriated to the Forest
Service) in landscape-scale, multistakeholder land management
activities and related natural and built infrastructure and
associated local employment opportunities;
(2) encouraging project planning and analysis that
effectively scale up to the landscape level of 100,000 acres or
more;
(3) supporting projects that emphasize--
(A) the reintroduction of characteristic fire,
based on forest ecology and reference conditions,
through the use of prescribed fire, wildfire managed
for resource benefits, or both;
(B) restoring terrestrial and aquatic areas that
lack ecological integrity; or
(C) reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire
and improving forest resiliency;
(4) requiring ecological standards and collaboration for
landscape-scale projects; and
(5) coordinating with Federal, State, local, and Tribal
entities to support the pilot program described in paragraph
(1) by taking full advantage of existing interagency agreements
and authorities.
SEC. 103. CONSERVATION FINANCE AGREEMENTS.
(a) Pilot Program Authority.--The Secretary shall establish a pilot
program under which the Secretary may enter into a conservation finance
agreement with a public or private person, including a for-profit or
nonprofit organization, to carry out a conservation finance project if
the Secretary finds each of the following:
(1) There is a reasonable expectation that, throughout the
contemplated agreement period, the Secretary will request
funding for the agreement at the level required to avoid
agreement cancellation.
(2) The environmental analysis for the project demonstrates
that there is a supply sufficient to support a conservation
finance agreement of--
(A) small-diameter material; or
(B) other hazardous fuels, the removal of which
would reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire.
(3) The use of the conservation finance agreement will
assist in achieving the purpose described in section 102.
(4) The project involves a conservation finance project
developer.
(b) Limited Delegation.--The Secretary may not delegate the pilot
program authority under subsection (a) to a Federal official that
serves under the Chief of the Forest Service.
(c) Limitations.--The pilot program authority under subsection
(a)--
(1) may not be used to enter into more than 20 conservation
finance agreements;
(2) may be used for the obligation under conservation
finance agreements of--
(A) during the 10-year period beginning on the date
of enactment of this Act, not more than $250,000,000 in
the aggregate; and
(B) not more than $50,000,000 for any 1
conservation finance agreement; and
(3) may not be used to reimburse for interest paid to any
other entity providing funds for the applicable conservation
finance project.
(d) Priority.--In entering into conservation finance agreements
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to projects
described in that subsection that are based on restoration strategies
addressing larger landscapes, particularly landscapes of 100,000 acres
or more.
(e) Cancellation, Termination, or Modification for Insufficient
Funding.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Insufficient funding.--If funds are not made
available for the continuation of a conservation
finance agreement made under this section into a
subsequent fiscal year, the agreement shall be
canceled, terminated, or modified.
(B) Payment of costs.--If the Secretary determines
that it is necessary to cancel or terminate a
conservation finance agreement pursuant to subparagraph
(A), and the conservation finance agreement includes a
cancellation or termination provision as described in
paragraph (2)(A), the Secretary may pay the costs of
that cancellation or termination using any of the
following amounts:
(i) Appropriations originally available for
the performance of the applicable conservation
finance agreement.
(ii) Appropriations currently available for
the type of services concerned under the
applicable conservation finance agreement, and
not otherwise obligated.
(iii) Funds appropriated for payment of the
costs of cancellation or termination.
(2) Provisions in agreements.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may include
cancellation or termination provisions in conservation
finance agreements under this section to the extent
that those provisions are necessary and in the best
interests of the United States.
(B) Considerations.--The cancellation or
termination provisions described in subparagraph (A)
may include consideration of the recurring and
nonrecurring costs of the conservation finance project
developer under the applicable conservation finance
agreement.
(3) Cancellation and termination costs.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may obligate funds
in stages that are economically or programmatically
viable to cover any potential cancellation or
termination costs related to the Federal share of the
costs under a conservation finance agreement under
paragraph (1)(B) and implement the agreement pursuant
to this section.
(B) Advance notice to congress of cancellation or
termination costs in excess of $25,000,000.--Not later
than 30 days before entering into a conservation
finance agreement under this section that includes
cancellation or termination costs in excess of
$25,000,000, but does not include proposed funding for
the costs of cancelling or terminating the agreement up
to the maximum cancellation or termination costs in the
agreement, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and
the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives a written
notice that includes--
(i) a description of the cancellation or
termination cost amounts proposed for each
program year in the agreement;
(ii) the reasons why the cancellation or
termination cost amounts described under clause
(i) were selected;
(iii) a description of the extent to which
the costs of agreement cancellation or
termination are not included in the budget for
the agreement; and
(iv) an assessment of the financial risk of
not including budgeting for the costs of
agreement cancellation or termination.
(C) Transmittal of notice to omb.--Not later than
14 days after the date on which written notice is
provided under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall
transmit a copy of the notice to the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget.
(D) Determination of cancellation or termination
costs specific to a conservation finance agreement.--
The Secretary may enter into a conservation finance
agreement pursuant to this section that includes
conservation finance project developer services in
return for payments by the Secretary in future years
that are contingent on the appropriation of funds,
subject to the requirement that the Secretary shall pay
the conservation finance project developer the Federal
share of the cancellation or termination costs under
the agreement pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) up to the
limitation on cancellation or termination costs
applicable to the agreement if funding for the
completion of the agreement is not appropriated.
(f) Non-Federal Cost Share.--
(1) In general.--The non-Federal share of the costs of
implementing a conservation finance agreement carried out using
amounts made available under this title shall be not less than
40 percent of the costs of implementing the conservation
finance agreement, of which, subject to paragraph (2)--
(A) up to 50 percent may be reimbursed by the
Forest Service, subject to the availability of
appropriations and subsections (c)(3) and (e); and
(B) not less than 50 percent shall be covered by
non-Federal funding, which may include in-kind
contributions.
(2) Cost share for low-income communities.--In the case of
a conservation finance project that the Secretary determines
would primarily benefit 1 or more low-income communities and
for which the non-Federal entities involved cannot meet the
cost share requirement under paragraph (1)--
(A) subparagraph (A) of that paragraph shall be
applied by substituting ``75 percent'' for ``50
percent''; and
(B) subparagraph (B) of that paragraph shall be
applied by substituting ``25 percent'' for ``50
percent''.
(3) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection limits
additional non-Federal financing or funding for a conservation
finance project above the 40 percent minimum non-Federal cost
share described in paragraph (1).
(g) Stewardship End Result Contracting Project Authorities.--A
conservation finance agreement developed under this section may
incorporate the authorities provided to the Secretary and the Chief of
the Forest Service to enter into stewardship contracting projects under
section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C.
6591c).
SEC. 104. REPORT EVALUATING IMPLEMENTATION.
Not later than 4 years after the dat