115th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to improve mitigation assistance.
February 16, 2017
Mr. Ruiz (for himself, Mr. Polis, Mr. Cook, Mr. O'Halleran, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Peters, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Garamendi, Mrs. Napolitano, and Ms. Sinema) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to improve mitigation assistance.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Wildfire Prevention Act of 2017”.
SEC. 2. Mitigation assistance.
(a) In general.—Section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
“(d) Hazard mitigation assistance.—Whether or not a major disaster is declared, the President may provide hazard mitigation assistance in accordance with section 404 in any area affected by a fire for which assistance was provided under this section.”.
(b) Conforming amendments.—The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 404(a) (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a))—
(A) by inserting before the first period “, or any area affected by a fire for which assistance was provided under section 420”; and
(B) in the third sentence by inserting “or event under section 420” after “major disaster” each place it appears; and
(2) in section 322(e)(1) (42 U.S.C. 5165(e)(1)), by inserting “or event under section 420” after “major disaster” each place it appears.
SEC. 3. Additional activities.
Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(f) Use of assistance.—Recipients of hazard mitigation assistance provided under this section and section 203 may use the assistance to conduct the following activities to help reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in any area affected by a wildfire, including—
“(1) reseeding ground cover with quick-growing or native species;
“(2) mulching with straw or chipped wood;
“(3) constructing straw, rock, or log dams in small tributaries to prevent flooding;
“(4) placing logs and other erosion barriers to catch sediment on hill slopes;
“(5) installing debris traps to modify road and trail drainage mechanisms;
“(6) modifying or removing culverts to allow drainage to flow freely;
“(7) adding drainage dips and constructing emergency spillways to keep roads and bridges from washing out during floods;
“(8) planting grass to prevent the spread of noxious weeds;
“(9) installing warning signs;
“(10) establishing defensible space measures; and
“(11) reducing hazardous fuels.”.
SEC. 4. Reporting requirement.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report containing a summary of any projects carried out, and any funding provided to those projects, under subsection (d) of section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) (as amended by section 1(a)(2)).