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Prior to leaving for its August Recess, the U.S. House of Representatives sent to the Senate, 218-199, an omnibus-style bill containing more than 40 individual pieces of legislation addressing Western drought and fire. Congressman Raul Ruiz promoted the legislation last week when speaking to attendees at the CSDA Annual Conference and Exhibitor Showcase in Palm Desert. He highlighted potential for quality of life enhancements, greater community health outcomes, and broader ecological impacts for all of Southern California.

H.R. 5118, the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, was passed July 29. Successfully amended onto the bill were three NSDC-supported bills, including two bills sponsored by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., to reform FEMA’s approach to wildfire response and recovery and provide enhanced federal assistance for communities that experience more than one disaster over the course of three years. The third supported provision is Congressman Jimmy Panetta’s, D-Calif., Wildfire Emergency Act, which would allow public-private partnerships to implement mitigation measures on federal lands. The bill also specifically includes special districts as an eligible entity to enter into land stewardship grants, as authorized for five years should the bill be passed.  

CSDA has also been closely tracking H.R. 3877, the Salton Sea Projects Improvements Act, as sponsored by Congressman Raul Ruiz, D-Calif. The bill would authorize the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with local, state, and tribal governments; joint powers authorities, water districts, nonprofit organizations, and institutes of higher education for the expanded purposes of air quality mitigation, ecosystem restoration, recreation services, and water quality improvements. It would authorize an increase in funding from $10 million in total funding for the Sea to $250 million. For all projects, the BOR would provide a 50 percent cost share.

H.R. 5118 authorizes increased spending on existing fire mitigation and drought programs, as well as establishes some new programs. Highlights of these authorization include:

Fire

• $1.6 billion for U.S. Forest Service wildfire preparedness projects.
• $2.35 billion for stewardship and management of U.S. Forest Service lands.
• $500 million for hazardous fuels reductions on federal lands.
• $500 million for programs geared toward habitat management.
• $500 million for wilderness and designated heritage site restorations.

Water

• $600 million for WaterSMART grants for water reclamation and reuse
• $500 million to address the drying lakes of Lake Mead in Nevada and Lake Powell in Utah, along the Colorado River.
• $260 million for desalination project development.
• $100 million for a new grant program to address and mitigate declining drinking water quality in disadvantaged communities – specifically those with 60,000 or fewer population and an average non-metropolitan median income of less than 100 percent the Federal Poverty Level.
• $50 million over five years in U.S. Department of Agriculture programming to ensure public and private entities may fully fund improvements to drinking water quality. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., secured this provision.

The bill also directs the U.S. Department of Interior to establish a 10-year national wildfire prevention plan, and it would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to update post-disaster public assistance programming to include broader wildfire-specific challenges, including impacts on drinking water.

The Senate returns to Washington on September 6, when it will need to prioritize action on Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations bills ahead of the federal fiscal year’s end on September 30. H.R. 5118 is unlikely to move prior to the November elections.

CSDA, along with NSDC, will be tracking this legislation and share updates with members as news develops. Contact Cole Karr, CSDA Federal Advocacy Coordinator, at colek@csda.net