U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Cynthis Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Responsible Wildland Fire Recovery Act, legislation to boost federal wildfire recovery efforts. The legislation would allow the Secretary of Agriculture to waive all cost share requirements for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs as a result of wildfires started by controlled burns and other land management activities conducted by the USDA. Current law does not fully cover remediation costs in cases where the government is responsible for a wildfire ignition.
“If a prescribed burn, started by the federal government, escapes containment, Nebraskans shouldn’t be left to foot the bill for recovery. Our bipartisan Responsible Wildland Fire Recovery Act will protect Nebraskans from being impacted by the federal government if prescribed burns are mismanaged and destructive to private property,” said Fischer.
“Well-intentioned federal controlled burns and land management activities can be critical tools for preventing devastating wildfires, however, if they unexpectedly escape containment, they can devastate communities. Many New Mexicans know this devastation personally after living through the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire. While I passed legislation to rebuild communities in the aftermath of Hermit’s Peak, the federal government currently bears no responsibility to fully cover costs for remediation and recovery. That’s why I’m introducing bipartisan legislation that allows the Secretary of Agriculture to remove costs share requirements and ensure communities across the country are not left to fend for themselves during their recovery,” said Luján.
“Federal controlled burns are one of our most effective tools for protecting Wyoming communities from catastrophic wildfires. While these prescribed fires rarely escape containment, when they do, they can damage the very areas they’re designed to protect. The Responsible Wildland Fire Recovery Act gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to compensate affected residents and repair any damage from when controlled burns exceed their boundaries—while maintaining our commitment to proven wildfire prevention strategies,” said Lummis.
This bill will allow the Secretary of Agriculture to waive all cost share requirements for the remediation of damage deemed to be to be a result of management activities conducted by the Secretary on National Forest System land.
This waiver will only apply to cash cost shares, not in-kind contributions, and may only be applied at the Secretary’s discretion. With this added authority, the Secretary will be able to expedite much needed infrastructural repairs in communities devastated by wildfires that are out of their control.