16 U.S.C. § 551c — Planning for fire protection

Page 1051 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 551c not to be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture under this section, see note set out under section 1701 of Title 43, Public Lands. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Enforcement functions of Secretary or other official in Department of Agriculture, insofar as they involve lands and programs under jurisdiction of that Depart- ment, related to compliance with provisions of sections 473, 474 to 482, and 551 of this title with respect to pre- construction, construction, and initial operation of transportation system for Canadian and Alaskan nat- ural gas transferred to Federal Inspector, Office of Fed- eral Inspector for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, until first anniversary of date of initial oper- ation of Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, see Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1979, §§ 102(f), 203(a), 44 F.R. 33663, 33666, 93 Stat. 1373, 1376, effective July 1, 1979, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organiza- tion and Employees. Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System abolished and functions and authority vested in Inspector trans- ferred to Secretary of Energy by section 3012(b) of Pub. L. 102–486, set out as an Abolition of Office of Federal Inspector note under section 719e of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. Functions and authority vested in Sec- retary of Energy subsequently transferred to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects by section 720d(f) of Title 15. § 551a. Cooperation by Secretary of Agriculture with States and political subdivisions in law enforcement The Secretary of Agriculture, in connection with the administration and regulation of the use and occupancy of the national forests and national grasslands, is authorized to cooperate with any State or political subdivision thereof, on lands which are within or part of any unit of the national forest system, in the enforcement or supervision of the laws or ordinances of a State or subdivision thereof. Such cooperation may include the reimbursement of a State or its subdivision for expenditures incurred in connec- tion with activities on national forest system lands. This section shall not deprive any State or political subdivision thereof of its right to ex- ercise civil and criminal jurisdiction, within or on lands which are a part of the national forest system. (Pub. L. 92–82, Aug. 10, 1971, 85 Stat. 303.) § 551b. Omitted Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section, Pub. L. 101–286, title II, § 202, May 9, 1990, 104 Stat. 174, which required the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, for areas under their respective juris- dictions, to submit annual reports to Congress on reha- bilitation needs resulting from disastrous forest fire damage, terminated, effective May 15, 2000, pursuant to section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance. See, also, pages 47 and 108 of House Document No. 103–7. § 551c. Planning for fire protection (a) Volunteer firefighters The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Inte- rior shall annually offer training programs to certify volunteers for suppressing forest fires on National Forest System lands, National Park System lands and Bureau of Land Management public lands in the event that the appropriate Secretary determines that such volunteers are needed. In carrying out this subsection, the Sec- retaries should utilize existing authorities to train volunteer firefighters for use in fire emer- gencies. The Secretaries should assess the capa- bilities of educational institutions and other public and private organizations to provide such training programs. (b) ‘‘Educational institutions’’ defined For the purposes of this section, the term ‘‘educational institutions’’ shall include institu- tions established pursuant to the Act of July 2, 1862 (7 U.S.C. 301 et seq., commonly known as the ‘‘Morrill Act’’), or the Act of August 30, 1890 (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq., commonly known as the ‘‘Second Morrill Act’’). (c) Mobilization of local equipment Not later than one year after May 9, 1990— (1) the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Congress information with respect to regions of the National Forest System, and (2) the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Congress information with respect to the Bureau of Land Management public lands on a State-by-State basis and each region of the National Park System that documents mobilization plans that provide for the use of firefighting equipment in cases of fire emergencies that may occur in each such area that may be highly prone to disastrous for- est fires. (d) Presuppression needs Not later than one year after May 9, 1990, in- formation from the Secretary of Agriculture on presuppression needs for each region of the Na- tional Forest System and information from the Secretary of the Interior on the presuppression needs for each region of the National Park Sys- tem and for each State unit of the Bureau of Land Management shall be submitted to Con- gress. These reports shall include needs, includ- ing an estimate of the funds required, for fire prevention, fuel reduction, training and seasonal fire crews. (Pub. L. 101–286, title II, § 203, May 9, 1990, 104 Stat. 175.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Act of July 2, 1862, referred to in subsec. (b), is act July 2, 1862, ch. 130, 12 Stat. 503, popularly known as the Morrill Act and also as the First Morrill Act, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 301 et seq.) of chapter 13 of Title 7, Agriculture. For complete classi- fication of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 301 of Title 7 and Tables. Act of August 30, 1890, referred to in subsec. (b), is act Aug. 30, 1890, ch. 841, 26 Stat. 417, popularly known as the Agricultural College Act of 1890 and also as the Sec- ond Morrill Act, which is classified generally to sub- chapter II (§ 321 et seq.) of chapter 13 of Title 7. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 321 of Title 7 and Tables. Page 1052 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 551c–1 Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries FOREST SERVICE LARGE AIRTANKER AND AERIAL ASSET FIREFIGHTING RECAPITALIZATION PILOT PROGRAM Pub. L. 113–79, title VIII, § 8305, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 925, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap- propriations, the Secretary [of Agriculture], acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, may establish a large airtanker and aerial asset lease program in ac- cordance with this section. ‘‘(b) AIRCRAFT REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the program described in subsection (a), the Secretary may enter into a multiyear lease contract for up to 5 air- craft that meet the criteria— ‘‘(1) described in the Forest Service document enti- tled ‘Large Airtanker Modernization Strategy’ and dated February 10, 2012, for large airtankers; and ‘‘(2) determined by the Secretary, for other aerial assets. ‘‘(c) LEASE TERMS.—The term of any individual lease agreement into which the Secretary enters under this section shall be— ‘‘(1) up to 5 years, inclusive of any options to renew or extend the initial lease term; and ‘‘(2) in accordance with section 3903 of title 41, United States Code. ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION.—No lease entered into under this section shall provide for the purchase of the aircraft by, or the transfer of ownership to, the Forest Serv- ice.’’ FOREST FIREFIGHTING PLANNING AND COOPERATION; FINDINGS Pub. L. 101–286, title II, § 201, May 9, 1990, 104 Stat. 174, provided that: ‘‘The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) it is in the best interest of the Nation to take swift action to rehabilitate burned forests, and an as- sessment of the situation is necessary to accomplish this; and ‘‘(2) volunteers should be trained to assist where possible.’’ § 551c–1. Limitations on prescribed burns (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b), the Sec- retary shall not authorize a prescribed burn on Forest Service land if, for the county or contig- uous county in which the land is located, the na- tional fire danger rating system indicates an ex- treme fire danger level. (b) Exception The Secretary may authorize a prescribed burn under a condition described in subsection (a) if the Secretary coordinates with the appli- cable State government and local fire officials. (c) Report At the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing— (1) the number and locations of prescribed burns during that fiscal year; and (2) each prescribed burn during that fiscal year that was authorized by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b). (Pub. L. 114–275, § 3, Dec. 14, 2016, 130 Stat. 1405.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEFINITIONS Pub. L. 114–275, § 2, Dec. 14, 2016, 130 Stat. 1405, pro- vided that: ‘‘In this Act [enacting this section and pro- visions set out as a note under section 551 of this title]: ‘‘(1) NATIONAL FIRE DANGER RATING SYSTEM.—The term ‘national fire danger rating system’ means the national system used to provide a measure of fire danger according to a range of low to moderate to high to very high to extreme. ‘‘(2) PRESCRIBED BURN.—The term ‘prescribed burn’ means a planned fire intentionally ignited. ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.’’ § 551d. Wildland firefighter safety (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Secretaries The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ means— (A) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Directors of the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service. (2) Wildland firefighter The term ‘‘wildland firefighter’’ means any person who participates in wildland fire- fighting activities— (A) under the direction of either of the Secretaries; or (B) under a contract or compact with a federally recognized Indian tribe. (b) Annual report to Congress (1) In general The Secretaries shall jointly submit to Con- gress an annual report on the wildland fire- fighter safety practices of the Secretaries, in- cluding training programs and activities for wildland fire suppression, prescribed burning, and wildland fire use, during the preceding calendar year. (2) Timeline Each report under paragraph (1) shall— (A) be submitted by not later than March of the year following the calendar year cov- ered by the report; and (B) include— (i) a description of, and any changes to, wildland firefighter safety practices, in- cluding training programs and activities for wildland fire suppression, prescribed burning, and wildland fire use; (ii) statistics and trend analyses; (iii) an estimate of the amount of Fed- eral funds expended by the Secretaries on wildland firefighter safety practices, in- cluding training programs and activities for wildland fire suppression, prescribed burning, and wildland fire use; (iv) progress made in implementing rec- ommendations from the Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- tration, or an agency report relating to a wildland firefighting fatality issued during the preceding 10 years; and (v) a description of— (I) the provisions relating to wildland firefighter safety practices in any Fed- eral contract or other agreement gov- erning the provision of wildland fire- fighters by a non-Federal entity;