S.Amdt. 3379

SA 3379. Mr. TESTER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 3224 proposed by Mr. Roberts (for himself and Ms.
Stabenow) to the bill H.R. 2, to provide for the reform and
continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of
Agriculture through fiscal year 2023, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
After section 8611, insert the following:

SEC. 8612. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR COLLABORATIVE
RESTORATION PROJECTS.

(a) Expansion of Categorical Exclusion to Fire Regime Iv.--
Section 603(c) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003
(16 U.S.C. 6591b(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and
inserting the following:
``(2) Location.--
``(A) Definition of fire regime iv.--In this paragraph, the
term `Fire Regime IV' means an area in which historically
there are stand replacement severity fires with a frequency
of 35 to 100 years.
``(B) Location.--A project under this section shall be
limited to areas--
``(i) in the wildland-urban interface; or
``(ii) for projects located outside the wildland-urban
interface, within condition class 2 or condition class 3 in--

``(I) fire regime I, fire regime II, or fire regime III; or
``(II) fire regime IV--

``(aa) if the Secretary determines, based on the best
available scientific information,

[[Page S4761]]

that an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project is
necessary to restore reference conditions and reduce the
threat posed to the water quality of a municipal water
supply, electrical transmission lines, or other
infrastructure; and
``(bb) if the project does not include clearcutting
regeneration, coppice, or even-aged methods (as those terms
are defined in Forest Service Manual 2470 (as in effect on
the date of enactment of the Agriculture Improvement Act of
2018)).''.
(b) Roadless Area Restriction.--Section 603(d) of the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(d))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) an inventoried roadless area.''.
______