Headwaters Protection and Restoration Act

        [Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5305 Introduced in House (IH)]

109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5305

To address the forest and watershed emergency in the State of Colorado
that has been exacerbated by the bark beetle infestation, to provide
for the conduct of activities in the State to reduce the risk of
wildfire and flooding, to promote economically healthy rural
communities by reinvigorating the forest products industry in the
State, to encourage the use of biomass fuels for energy, and for other
purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 4, 2006

Mrs. Musgrave (for herself and Mr. Beauprez) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition
to the Committees on Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and
Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 address the forest and watershed emergency in the State of Colorado
that has been exacerbated by the bark beetle infestation, to provide
for the conduct of activities in the State to reduce the risk of
wildfire and flooding, to promote economically healthy rural
communities by reinvigorating the forest products industry in the
State, to encourage the use of biomass fuels for energy, 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 ``Headwaters
Protection and Restoration Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Measures to address forest and watershed emergencies in
Colorado.
Sec. 5. Response to emergency events on public land in Colorado.
Sec. 6. Availability and use of emergency event procedures.
Sec. 7. Measures to improve the long-term health of the forests.
Sec. 8. Assistance to communities and private landowners.
Sec. 9. Reports.
Sec. 10. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) the vast natural resources of the State of Colorado are
threatened by the serious risk of catastrophic wildfire,
subsequent flooding, and destruction of, or damage to,
watersheds posed by the 1,500,000 acres of trees that have been
killed by bark beetles and the additional 6,300,000 acres of
hazardous fuels that have accumulated over the 20 years
preceding the date of enactment of this Act;
(2) well over \1/2\ of the 14,500,000 acres of national
forest land in the State is at increased risk of catastrophic
wildfire;
(3) the risk is greatly compounded by several years of
drought and the fact that the most serious bark beetle
infestations include 3 of the 4 major watersheds in the State,
which poses a grave threat to communities and the mountain
reservoirs that supply the drinking water of the State;
(4) threats to the watersheds of the State could translate
to problems in other Western States downstream;
(5) Colorado could be called ``the Headwaters State'',
because the State is the origin point of major rivers flowing
both east and west and the source of a vast amount of the water
of the United States;
(6) the Colorado Rocky Mountains create the headwaters for
4 regional watersheds that eventually supply water to
approximately 19 Western States;
(7) the State has already experienced major damage to
municipal water reservoirs from repeated flooding and watershed
damage and destruction after catastrophic wildfires that have
cost hundreds of millions of dollars;
(8) in addition to the risk to public health and safety,
the economic health of the State is threatened by the loss of
healthy green forests, which are essential to the mountain
tourism industry of the State;
(9) the Federal agencies that manage the majority of the
affected land need to adopt an accelerated pace to reduce the
public health and safety risk as soon as possible;
(10) additional funds are necessary to accomplish the
needed work, but merely increasing funding would not address
the larger problem facing the State, which is the lack of
necessary forest product industry to adequately handle the
amount and variety of material requiring removal from the
forests;
(11) the long years of reduced harvesting and thinning of
forests in the State have led to a precipitous decline in
forest businesses to the extent that there are very few forest
businesses remaining in the State that have the infrastructure
and ability to process the varied forest products that result
when harvesting does occur;
(12) although the State has an ample potential supply of
wood and a high demand for sawn wood products, the State
actually imports more than 90 percent of its timber and wood
products;
(13) the reliance on imported timber and wood products is
directly related to the lack of a consistent supply of raw
material from national forests, losses in mill locations, and
the decline in processing facilities, especially for post and
pole size material, in the State;
(14) the absence of an adequate market for small diameter
materials and wood chips is a serious problem as the need to
thin forests of hazardous fuel grows across the State;
(15) steady, judicious, and effective forest management
over time is a much better and more cost effective strategy
than dealing with the management of catastrophic events under
emergency circumstances;
(16) in the few years preceding the date of enactment of
this Act, 3 major Colorado fires cost the Federal Government
$125,000,000 for suppression and emergency restoration actions,
not including the value of destroyed timber, habitat loss, and
devastated landscapes and destruction of private property;
(17) additional benefits of sound forestry management
include--
(A) reducing the magnitude of the crisis during the
next bark beetle epidemic;
(B) creating a market sufficient to provide jobs in
rural areas; and
(C) reducing the amount of wood imported into the
State; and
(18) to address the immediate crisis and the longer-term
need for more effective forest management in the State, it is
necessary to--
(A) provide financial assistance;
(B) assure a sustained harvest of forest products;
(C) establish a self-sustaining Forest Health Fund
for the State;
(D) reestablish adequate forest processing
infrastructure in the State;
(E) develop a diversified forest products market
and encourage woody biomass industry to supply a
reliable source of renewable energy; and
(F) encourage the woody biomass industry to supply
a reliable source of renewable energy by removing a
requirement for a full permit review that is a
disincentive for power companies that may want to
switch to cogeneration using woody biomass.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) At-risk community.--The term ``at-risk community'' has
the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Healthy
Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
(2) Emergency event.--The term ``emergency event'' means
any drought, insect or disease outbreak, natural disaster (such
as a landslide, mudslide, tornado, windstorm, snow or ice
storm, rain storm, high water, or wind-driven water), or any
fire, flood, or explosion, regardless of cause, that the
Secretary concerned determines has caused or will cause damage
of significant severity and magnitude to Federal land or
adjacent non-Federal land.
(3) Emergency event procedures.--The term ``emergency event
procedures'' means any procedures that as, determined by the
Secretary concerned under section 6, may be employed to
facilitate the response to emergency events on Federal land or
adjacent non-Federal land in the State during the period of
fiscal years 2007 through 2011.
(4) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Colorado Forest
Health Fund established by section 7(c)(1).
(5) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
(6) Municipal water supply system.--The term ``municipal
water supply system'' has the meaning given the term in section
101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C.
6511).
(7) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) with respect to National Forest System land,
the Secretary of Agriculture--
(i) acting through the Forest Supervisor of
the applicable unit of the National Forest
System for the purposes of sections 5 and 6;
and
(ii) acting through the Chief of the Forest
Service for the purposes of any other section;
and
(B) with respect to land managed by the Bureau of
Land Management (including land held for the benefit of
an Indian tribe), the National Park Service, or the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Secretary
of the Interior.
(8) Small business concern.--The term ``small business
concern'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
(9) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Colorado.
(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. 4. MEASURES TO ADDRESS FOREST AND WATERSHED EMERGENCIES IN
COLORADO.

(a) Emergency Event Procedures.--During the period of fiscal years
2007 through 2011, in response to watershed and forest emergencies, the
Secretary concerned shall consider the use of the emergency event
procedures for the State in accordance with sections 5 and 6.
(b) Hazardous Fuel Reduction and Bark Beetle Response Projects.--
The Secretary concerned may carry out projects in the State to--
(1) reduce hazardous fuels; or
(2) prevent the spread of bark beetles to adjacent trees
that are in danger of being infested.

SEC. 5. RESPONSE TO EMERGENCY EVENTS ON PUBLIC LAND IN COLORADO.

(a) Emergency Event Proposals.--With respect to each emergency
event, the Secretary concerned may--
(1) prepare an emergency event proposal that contains
proposed projects to respond to the emergency event; or
(2) receive and consider a similarly-prepared proposal
from--
(A) the Governor of the State;
(B) the State Forester;
(C) a Water Conservation District; or
(D) an at-risk community.
(b) Emergency Event Evaluations.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary concerned may conduct an
emergency event evaluation in response to--
(A) an emergency event that--
(i) may require emergency event procedures;
and
(ii) affects--
(I) a municipal water supply
system;
(II) a wildland-urban interface; or
(III) other public or private
property that the Secretary concerned
determines has caused or will cause
damage of significant severity and
magnitude to Federal land or adjacent
non-Federal land; or
(B) a request for an emergency event evaluation for
an affected area described in subparagraph (A)(ii) from
1 of the entities described in subsection (a)(2)(B).
(2) Notification.--Concurrently, upon initiating the
emergency event evaluation under paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall notify--
(A) affected public agencies;
(B) affected local governments and entities;
(C) affected communities;
(D) affected water conservation districts; and
(E) other affected parties.
(c) Determination.--
(1) In general.--For each emergency event evaluation
conducted under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary concerned
shall make a determination of whether a project proposed under
subsection (a) should be developed and carried out using
emergency event procedures.
(2) Considerations.--In making a determination under
paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall consider, at a
minimum, the following:
(A) The necessity of promptly responding to the
emergency event.
(B) The threat to public health and safety.
(C) The threat to municipal water supplies.
(D) The likelihood of substantial loss of adjacent
private and public property or other substantial
economic losses.
(3) Priority.--In making a determination under paragraph
(1), the Secretary concerned shall give priority to projects in
or adjacent to an area that is covered by a completed community
wildfire protection plan.
(4) Deadline.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which the Secretary concerned determines that an emergency
event evaluation should be conducted, the Secretary concerned
shall--
(A) complete the emergency event evaluation; and
(B) issue a determination.
(5) Notification.--On issuance of a determination under
paragraph (4)(B), the Secretary concerned shall simultaneously
provide notice of the determination to--
(A) affected public agencies;
(B) affected local governments and entities;
(C) affected communities;
(D) affected water conservation districts; and
(E) other affected parties.
(d) Relation to Appeals Reform Act.--Section 105 of the Healthy
Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6515) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(d) Relation to Appeals Reform.--Nothing in section 322 of the
Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
1999 (Public Law 102-381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note) shall be construed to
require administrative review procedures different from, or in addition
to, the procedures established by regulations issued pursuant to this
section and section 6 of the Headwaters Protection and Restoration Act
for administrative review of an authorized emergency event project
carried out in the State of Colorado during fiscal years 2007 through
2011 in accordance with the Headwaters Protection and Restoration
Act.''.

SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY AND USE OF EMERGENCY EVENT PROCEDURES.

(a) Requirements.--
(1) In general.--If the Secretary concerned determines
under section 5(c) to use emergency event procedures for a
project, the Secretary shall develop and carry out the project
in accordance with this section.
(2) Applicable law.--Except as otherwise provided in this
Act, the Secretary concerned shall comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.), any
regulations promulgated to carry out that Act, and other
applicable laws in designing and conducting emergency event
projects.
(3) Limited consideration of alternatives.--If the
Secretary concerned determines under section 5(c)(1) to use
emergency event procedures to conduct a project proposed under
section 5(a), the Secretary concerned is not required to study,
develop, or analyze any alternatives other than the proposed
agency action and the alternative of no action in designing the
project.
(b) Required Consultation.--
(1) Compliance with endangered species act of 1973.--
(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in
this Act, the Secretary concerned shall comply with
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1536) in carrying out this Act.
(B) Deadline for completion.--If the consultation
required under this paragraph is not completed by the
date on which the decision document is issued under
subsection (c), the applicable biological assessment
from the land management agency shall be considered to
be sufficient for the purposes of section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536).
(2) Other required consultation.--
(A) In general.--Any consultation required under
any other laws, such as the National Historic
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), may proceed
simultaneously with the design of an emergency event
project, or portion of an emergency event project, for
which emergency event procedures under this section are
used.
(B) Incorporation.--To the extent feasible,
practicable, and consistent with the response
objectives of an emergency event project, the results
of any consultation required under subparagraph (A)
shall be immediately incorporated into the emergency
event project.
(c) Issuance of Decision Document.--Not later than 90 days after
the date on which the Secretary concerned makes a determination under
section 5(c)(1) to develop and carry out an emergency event project, or
portion of an emergency event project, using emergency event
procedures, the Secretary concerned shall--
(1) complete the emergency event procedures for that
emergency event project, or a portion of the emergency event
project, under this section; and
(2) issue a concise decision document that contains the
rationale for the agency decision.
(d) Implementation.--The Secretary concerned shall implement the
emergency event procedures as soon as practicable after the issuance of
the decision document under subsection (c), subject only to the
availability of funds for the emergency event procedures.
(e) Limitations on Treatments.--For the purposes of responding to 1
or more of the events described in section 5(b), treatment of stands
carried out as part of a project for which emergency event procedures
are authorized under this section shall be limited to--
(1) reducing hazardous fuels; or
(2) preventing the spread of bark beetles to adjacent trees
that are in danger of being infested.

SEC. 7. MEASURES TO IMPROVE THE LONG-TERM HEALTH OF THE FORESTS.

(a) Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary concerned, in cooperation
with the Colorado State Forester, shall carry out a program in
the State to--
(A) ensure the long-term health of forests in the
State; and
(B) reduce the risk of catastrophic fire, flooding,
and watershed destruction.
(2) Requirements.--Under the program, the Secretary
concerned, in cooperation with the Colorado State Forester and
other applicable State agencies, shall, at a minimum--
(A) assess priorities in the State for use of 10-
year stewardship contracts to initiate revitalization
of the forest product industry; and
(B) otherwise cooperate with the Colorado State
Forest Service and the forest products industry in
Colorado to assist in the development of new markets
and marketing of the forest products industry.
(b) Financial Assistance for Stewardship Projects and Small
Businesses.--The Secretary concerned shall--
(1) consistently use authority under the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), stewardship
contracts, and other long-term contracts to ensure a sustained
supply of raw wood materials in the State;
(2) provide financial assistance for the upfront costs of
long-term stewardship projects in areas in which timber values
do not provide for recovery costs; and
(3) provide grants and low-cost loans to eligible small
business concerns in the forest product industry in the State
for the costs of start-up activities, converting equipment, and
modifying facilities to enable the small business concerns to
use wood from forests in the State.
(c) Forest Health Fund.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of
the United States a fund, to be known as the ``Colorado Forest
Health Fund'', consisting of--
(A) such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund
under paragraph (2) or any other law; and
(B) any interest earned on investment of amounts in
the Fund under paragraph (3).
(2) Transfers to fund.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, beginning in fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year
thereafter, there are appropriated to the Fund an amount equal
to 50 percent of the proceeds from the Forest Service sales of
timber in the State.
(3) Expenditures from fund.--On request by the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from
the Fund to the Secretary of Agriculture such amounts as the
Secretary of Agriculture determines are necessary to carry out
measures to improve forest health and reduce hazardous fuels in
the State.
(4) Investment of amounts.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury
shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not, in the
judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury, required to
meet current withdrawals.
(B) Interest-bearing obligations.--Investments may
be made only in interest-bearing obligations of the
United States.
(C) Acquisition of obligations.--For the purpose of
investments under subparagraph (A), obligations may be
acquired--
(i) on original issue at the issue price;
or
(ii) by purchase of outstanding obligations
at the market price.
(D) Sale of obligations.--Any obligation acquired
by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of the
Treasury at the market price.
(E) Credits to fund.--The interest on, and the
proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any
obligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and
form a part of the Fund.
(5) Transfers of amounts.--
(A) In general.--The amounts required to be
transferred to the Fund under this section shall be
transferred at least monthly from the general fund of
the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of estimates made
by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(B) Adjustments.--Proper adjustment shall be made
in amounts subsequently transferred, to the extent
prior estimates were in excess of or less than, the
amounts required to be transferred.
(d) Research.--To improve the long-term health of forests in the
State, the Secretary of Agriculture shall--
(1) provide financial assistance in the form of grants to--
(A) the Colorado Wood Program of Colorado State
University for the conduct of research and development
and marketing of forest products;
(B) the Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado
State University, including assistance for the conduct
of research in higher elevation forests; and
(C) any other entities that the Secretary of
Agriculture determines to be appropriate; and
(2) acting through the Rocky Mountain Research Station,
collaborate with the Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado
State University in the conduct of research on and the
development and transfer of broader landscape treatment
strategies and ways to integrate best science with community
needs.
(e) Air Permit Revision Exemption.--Section 504 of the Clean Air
Act (42 U.S.C. 7661c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Revisions.--Notwithstanding the regulations promulgated under
section 502(b)(10), if a permittee seeks to use renewable forest
biomass to supplement the energy sources authorized under the permit--
``(1) revision and review of the entire permit shall not be
required; and
``(2) any review and revision of the permit shall be
limited to consideration of the new use.''.
(f) Permanent Authority for Federal and State Cooperative
Restoration and Protection in Colorado.--Section 331 of the Department
of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (114
Stat. 996; 118 Stat. 3102) is amended by striking subsection (e).

SEC. 8. ASSISTANCE TO COMMUNITIES AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.

(a) Cost-Share Grant Program for Private Landowners.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall provide
to the Colorado State Forest Service financial assistance under
the Community and Private Land Fire Assistance Program
established under section 10A of the Cooperative Forestry
Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2106c) to establish a grant
program in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) Requirements.--As a condition of receiving funds under
paragraph (1), the Colorado State Forest Service shall
establish a grant program under which any private landowner in
the State may apply to the Colorado State Forest Service for a
grant on a cost-share basis to improve forest health conditions
on the land of the private landowner, including conditions
relating to insects, diseases, and hazardous fuels.
(3) Cost share requirement.--A private landowner applying
for a grant under paragraph (2) shall agree to provide 50
percent of the cost of the grant.
(4) Prioritization.--Priority shall be given to grant
applications from private landowners in areas that have
completed community wildfire protection plans.
(b) Grants for the Colorado Fuels for Schools.--The Secretary of
Agriculture shall provide grants to the State for the Colorado Fuels
for Schools program under section 210 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(42 U.S.C. 15855)--
(1) to conduct studies at eligible schools in rural
communities to determine the feasibility of installing and
operating biomass boilers at the schools and other public
buildings; and
(2) to assist eligible schools and other public buildings
in rural communities in the installation and operation of
biomass boilers.

SEC. 9. REPORTS.

The Secretary concerned shall submit to Congress a report on the
implementation of sections 4(c) and 6 not later than November 30, 2007,
May 31, 2008, and each November 30 and May 31 thereafter through 2011.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act for
the period of fiscal years 2007 through 2011, $227,000,000, of which--
(1) $150,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary
of Agriculture to carry out sections 4(b) and 6;
(2) $12,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of
the Interior to carry out sections 4(b) and 6;
(3) $2,500,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of
Agriculture to carry out section 5;
(4) $500,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of
the Interior to carry out section 5;
(5) $2,000,000 shall be made available for the conduct of
assessments under section 7(a)(2)(A);
(6) $10,000,000 shall be made available for assistance
under section 7(b)(2);
(7) $5,000,000 shall be made available for grants under
section 7(b)(3);
(8) $4,000,000 shall be made available for low-cost loans
under section 7(b)(3);
(9) $5,000,000 shall be made available to provide
assistance under section 7(d)(1)(A);
(10) $3,000,000 shall be made available to provide
assistance to the Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado
State University under section 7(d)(1)(B);
(11) $2,000,000 shall be made available to provide grants
under section 7(d)(1)(C);
(12) $3,000,000 shall be made available to carry out
section 7(d)(2);
(13) $15,000,000 shall be made available for assistance
under section 8(a); and
(14) $10,000,000 shall be made available for grants under
section 8(b).
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