Enhanced Safety from Wildfire Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 with respect to fires that spread from forested Federal lands onto nonfederal lands and cause injuries or property loss. Assumes Federal responsibility for injuries or property loss resulting from such fires under the Federal Tort Claims Act and other Federal law pertaining to the United States as a defendant in District Court. Provides for exceptions in certain cases, including if: (1) the nonfederal land exceeds 6,400 acres and is being used for commercial timber production (unless the nonfederal land was being managed to achieve or maintain condition class 1 health status immediately before the fire); (2) the Federal land is a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System; or (3) the Federal land comprises less than 6,400 acres and is not contiguous to other Federal lands. States that Federal responsibility will apply in the case of injuries or property loss from a fire originating on National Forest System or Bureau of Land Management lands administered under the authorities of the O&C Sustained Yield Act of 1937 and that comprise less than 6,400 acres.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 807 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 807
To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to provide
owners of non-Federal lands with a reliable method of receiving
compensation for damages resulting from the spread of wildfire from
nearby forested National Forest System lands or Bureau of Land
Management lands, when those forested Federal lands are not maintained
in the forest health status known as condition class 1.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 14, 2005
Mr. Craig (for himself, Mr. Crapo, and Mr. Smith) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to provide
owners of non-Federal lands with a reliable method of receiving
compensation for damages resulting from the spread of wildfire from
nearby forested National Forest System lands or Bureau of Land
Management lands, when those forested Federal lands are not maintained
in the forest health status known as condition class 1.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Enhanced Safety from Wildfire Act of
2005''.
SEC. 2. UNITED STATES LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE SPREAD
OF WILDFIRE FROM FORESTED PUBLIC LANDS.
(a) Imposition of Liability for Spread of Wildfire.--Title III of
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 is amended by
inserting after section 318 (43 U.S.C. 1748) the following new section:
``sec. 319. liability for damages resulting from spread of wildfire
from public lands or national forest system lands.
``(a) Liability as Rule of Law.--Except as provided in subsections
(b), (c), and (d), and subject to the delayed effective date specified
in subsection (h), any injury to or loss of property that occurs on
non-Federal lands as a direct result of a fire that spread from
forested Federal lands onto the non-Federal lands, either directly or
by first spreading to other non-Federal lands, shall be deemed to be an
injury or loss of property caused by the negligent or wrongful act or
omission of an employee of the United States while acting within the
scope of the employee's office or employment for purposes of section
1346 and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as
the `Federal Tort Claims Act').
``(b) Additional Requirement for Certain Non-Federal Lands.--The
owner or leasee of non-Federal lands damaged by the spread of wildfire
from forested Federal lands may not utilize the rule of law specified
in subsection (a) when the non-Federal lands exceed 6,400 acres and are
used for the commercial production of timber, unless the owner or
leasee proves that the damaged non-Federal lands were being managed to
achieve or maintain the forest health status known as condition class 1
immediately before the fire. In the event of a dispute between the
owner or leasee and the Secretary concerned regarding the status of the
non-Federal lands before the fire, the determination of the State
Forester of the State in which the lands are located shall control and
any expenses associated with State Foresters determination shall be
equally divided between the disputing parties.
``(c) Exclusion of Condition Class 1 Lands.--The rule of law
specified in subsection (a) shall not apply if the forested Federal
lands within the buffer zone adjacent to the Federal land boundary from
which the fire spread to non-Federal lands were managed as condition
class 1 immediately before the fire.
``(d) Exclusion of Other Federal Lands.--The rule of law specified
in subsection (a) shall not apply to the following Federal lands, even
though wildfire may originate on such lands and spread to adjacent non-
Federal lands:
``(1) A component of the National Wilderness Preservation
System.
``(2) Federal lands where, by Act of Congress, Presidential
proclamation, or land and resource management plan, the removal
of vegetation is prohibited.
``(3) Areas of Federal lands that comprise less than 6,400
acres and are not contiguous to other Federal lands.
``(e) Exception for O&C Lands.--The rule of law specified in
subsection (a) shall apply to National Forest System lands and Bureau
of Land Management lands administered under the authorities of the O&C
Sustained Yield Act of 1937 and that do not meet the acreage limitation
set forth in subsection (d)(3).
``(f) Report Regarding Status of Buffer Lands.--Not later than two
years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary
concerned shall submit to Congress a report describing the forest
health status of all buffer zones with non-Federal lands and the extent
to which the buffer zones are in, or are being managed to achieve, the
forest health status known as condition class 1.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `buffer zone' refers to those forested
Federal lands that are within a prescribed distance of a
Federal land boundary with non-Federal lands and comprise, or
are part of a larger area of Federal lands comprising, 6,400
acres or more. The Secretary shall prescribe the actual buffer
zone for a particular area of forested Federal lands based on
the geography, topography, and forest cover of the lands.
``(2) The term `condition class 1', with respect to an area
of forested Federal lands or non-Federal lands, means that the
lands are managed so that--
``(A) fire regimes on the lands are within
historical ranges;
``(B) vegetation composition and structure are
intact; and
``(C) the risk of losing key ecosystem components
from the occurrence of fire remains relatively low.
``(3) The term `forested Federal lands' means public lands
and National Forest System lands that contain trees as a
significant component of the lands.
``(4) The term `Secretary concerned' means the Secretary of
the Interior (or the designee of that Secretary) with respect
to public lands and the Secretary of Agriculture (or the
designee of that Secretary) with respect to National Forest
System lands.
``(h) Delayed Effective Date.--The rule of law specified in
subsection (a) shall take effect at the end of the eight-year period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this section and apply with
respect to fires that spread from Federal lands onto non-Federal lands
after the end of such period.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents at the beginning of
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 318 the following new
item:
``Sec. 319. Liability for damages resulting from spread of wildfire
from public lands or National Forest System
lands.''.
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Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3683)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
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