Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program

(a) Establishment Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall jointly establish an interagency program, to be known as the Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program (referred to in this section as the Program), which shall consist of at least 1 representative from each of the following: (1) The Office of Wildland Fire of the Department of the Interior. (2) The National Park Service. (3) The Bureau of Land Management. (4) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service. (5) The Bureau of Indian Affairs. (6) The Forest Service. (7) The Federal Emergency Management Agency. (8) The United States Fire Administration. (9) The National Institute of Standards and Technology. (10) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (b) Purpose The purpose of the Program is to support interagency coordination in reducing the risk of, and the damages resulting from, wildland fires in communities (including Tribal communities) in the wildland-urban interface through— (1) advancing research and science in wildland fire resilience, land management, and risk reduction in the built environment, including support for non-Federal research partnerships; (2) supporting the development of fire-resistant building methods, codes, and standards for community wildland fire risk reduction, including by promoting ignition-resistant construction, defensible space, and other measures demonstrated to effectively reduce wildland fire risks, as informed by the best available science; (3) supporting adoption by Indian Tribes and local governmental entities of fire-resistant building methods, codes, and standards; (4) supporting efforts by Indian Tribes and local governmental entities to address the effects of wildland fire on those communities, including property damages, air quality, and water quality; (5) encouraging public-private partnerships to conduct hazardous fuels management activities in the wildland-urban interface, including creating or improving defensible space around structures; (6) providing technical and financial assistance targeted towards communities (including Tribal communities) through streamlined and unified technical assistance and grant management mechanisms, including the portal and uniform grant application established under subsection (c)— (A) to encourage critical risk-reduction measures on private property with high wildland fire risk exposure in those communities; and (B) to mitigate costs for, and improve capacity among, those communities; (7) reducing risk in the built environment by encouraging increased mitigation measures, such as the use of ignition-resistant construction and retrofitting materials; (8) coordinating budgets among the agencies described in subsection (a) to identify gaps and reduce overlap; (9) supporting the integration of wildland fire risk reduction measure and technical assistance into existing Federal programs, where practicable; and (10) advancing the development of early wildfire detection and warning systems for rapid response and community alerts. (c) Portal and uniform grant application (1) In general As part of the Program, the Secretaries and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish a portal through which a person may submit a single, uniform application for any of the following: (A) A community wildfire defense grant under section 40803(f) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(f)). (B) An emergency management performance grant under section 662 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 762). (C) A grant under section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229). (D) A grant under section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a). (E) Financial or technical assistance or a grant under section 203, 205, 404, 406, or 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133, 5135, 5170c, 5172, 5187). (2) Simplification of application In establishing the portal and application under paragraph (1), the Secretaries and the Administrator shall seek to reduce the complexity and length of the application process for the forms of assistance described in paragraph (1). (3) Technical assistance The Secretaries shall provide technical assistance to communities or persons seeking to apply for financial assistance through the portal using the application established under paragraph (1). (d) Duties In carrying out this section, the representatives described in subsection (a) shall— (1) meet not less frequently than once per year; (2) ensure coordination, as appropriate, with other Federal agencies not identified in that subsection; and (3) seek to gather feedback, as appropriate, from States, Indian Tribes, local governments, academic or research institutions, private entities, and such other entities as the Secretaries determine to be appropriate, to improve the function and operation of the Program. (e) Coordination The Secretaries shall seek to ensure that States and Indian Tribes are invited and represented in meetings and other activities under this section. (f) Report Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall jointly submit to the relevant committees of Congress a report that— (1) describes and itemizes the total amount of funding relating to community wildfire risk reduction that was obligated during the 2 preceding fiscal years by the agencies described in subsection (a); (2) describes the activities carried out under the Program since the date of enactment of this Act; (3) describes any feedback incorporated from non-Federal stakeholders to improve the function and operation of the Program; and (4) includes an evaluation of the Program in achieving the purposes described in subsection (b). (g) Sunset The Program terminates on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act.