BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1867
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 7, 2014

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                                Wesley Chesbro, Chair
               AB 1867 (Patterson) - As Introduced:  February 19, 2014
           
          SUBJECT  :   Timber harvest plans:  exemption:  reducing flammable  
          materials

           SUMMARY  :   Repeals the Timber Harvest Plan (THP) exemption for  
          the cutting and removal of trees for the purpose of creating a  
          defensible space within 150 of an approved and legally permitted  
          structure and replaces it with a similar exemption for creating  
          a defensible space within 300 feet of an approved and legally  
          permitted structure.

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Prohibits any person from conducting timber operations unless  
            a THP has been prepared by a registered professional forester  
            and approved by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection  
            (CAL FIRE).  (The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency  
            has certified that a THP is the functional equivalent of an  
            environmental impact report (EIR) under the California  
            Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).)

          2)Requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or  
            maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining a  
            mountainous area, forest-covered lands, brush-covered lands,  
            grass-covered lands, or land that is covered with flammable  
            material, to at all times maintain a defensible space of 100  
            feet from each side of the structure, but not beyond the  
            property line.

          3)Allows a state or local fire official, at his or her  
            discretion, to authorize an owner of property, or his or her  
            agent, to construct a firebreak, or implement appropriate  
            vegetation management techniques, to ensure that defensible  
            space is adequate for the protection of a hospital, adult  
            residential care facility, school, aboveground storage tank,  
            hazardous materials facility, or similar facility on the  
            property.  Allows the firebreak to be for a radius of up to  
            300 feet from the facility, or to the property line, whichever  
            distance is shorter.









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          4)Creates a THP exemption for defensible space timber operations  
            conducted not more than 150 feet on each side from an approved  
            and legally permitted structure.  Under this exemption,  
            requires all of the following:

             a)   Timber operations shall be limited to cutting or removal  
               of trees that will result in a reduction in the rate of  
               fire spread, fire duration and intensity, fuel  
               ignitability, or ignition of the tree crowns;

             b)   Clearcutting shall not be used; and,

             c)   Surface fuels (e.g., logging slash and debris, low bush,  
               deadwood) that could promote wildfire shall be chipped,  
               burned, or otherwise removed from all areas of the timber  
               operations.

          5)Establishes the Forest Fire Prevention Exemption, which is a  
            THP exemption for tree harvesting that meets specific  
            conditions, including the following: 

             a)   The harvesting must occur on parcels of 300 acres or  
               less;

             b)   The harvesting must decrease fuel continuity (both  
               vertically and horizontally);

             c)   The harvesting must result in making the average  
               diameter of the trees that remain in the stand larger than  
               the average diameter of the trees in the stand prior to the  
               fuel reduction activities;

             d)   A registered professional forester must prepare the  
               notice of exemption;

             e)   The level of residual stocking must be consistent with  
               maximum sustained production of high-quality timber  
               products; 

             f)   The activities must comply with the regulations that  
               protect archaeological sites; and,

             g)   Only trees less than 18 inches in stump diameter,  
               measured at 8 inches above ground level, may be removed.   
               (However, within 500 feet of a legally permitted structure,  








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               if the goal of fuel reduction cannot be achieved by  
               removing trees less than 18 inches in stump diameter, trees  
               less than 24 inches in stump diameter may be removed if  
               that removal is necessary to achieve the goal of fuel  
               reduction.)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :  

           1)Background on Fire  .  Fire is an integral part of most  
            California landscapes.  Many of our native plants, including  
            trees, are adapted to burn periodically; they need fire to be  
            healthy, reproduce, and survive.  Fire suppression activities  
            over the last 100 to 150 years have largely taken fire out of  
            the system, causing far-reaching changes in habitats and  
            forest health.  Many of the forest plant communities are not  
            adapted to today's exceedingly hot fires.  During these fires  
            many mature trees succumb from top kill while others have  
            their roots killed due to decades of accumulated debris  
            burning down into the root zones.
             
             At the same time, growing numbers of people moving into  
            forested areas (the wildland urban interface) increase the  
            risk of fires, place more lives and property in danger, and  
            complicate efforts to restore fire to the ecosystem. 

           2)Defensible Space  .  The vegetation surrounding a building or  
            structure can be fuel for a fire.  Even the building or  
            structure itself is considered fuel.  Research and experience  
            have shown that fuel reduction around a building or structure  
            increases the probability of it surviving a wildfire.  Good  
            defensible space allows firefighters to protect and save  
            buildings or structures safely without facing unacceptable  
            risk to their lives. Various fire programs throughout the  
            state and country teach that fuel reduction through vegetation  
            management is the key to creating good defensible space.

            State law requires a home owner to at all times maintain  
            defensible space of 100 feet from each side of the structure,  
            but not beyond the property line.  However, various defensible  
            space-related programs recommend a much large defensible space  
            area if possible.  

            For example, the Firewise Communities Program (a program  








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            co-sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department  
            of the Interior, and the National Association of State  
            Foresters) provides advice on how to manage defensible space  
            up to 200 feet and recommends an even greater distance  
            depending on the site.

            Another program worth citing is the Tuolumne County Fire Safe  
            Council (TCFSC).  Tuolumne County was seriously affected by  
            the 2013 Rim Fire, which burned 257,314 acres.  Certain  
            communities, such as Pine Mountain Lake, were ordered to  
            evacuate the area during the fire.  Committee staff visited  
            Tuolumne County to see the aftermath.  On this visit, the Pine  
            Mountain Lake Association explained the defensible space  
            measures it takes pursuant to recommendation established by  
            the TCFSC.  For certain areas, TCFSC recommends more than 150  
            feet of defensible space.

            State law currently has a THP exemption to conduct defensible  
            space fuels management up to 150 feet from each side of an  
            approved and legally permitted structure.  In this context,  
            the term "structure" is broad:  it can be a structure designed  
            for human occupancy, a garage, a barn, a stable, or a  
            structure used to enclose fuel tanks.  Under this exemption,  
            clearcutting is prohibited and timber operations shall be  
            limited to cutting or removal of trees that will result in a  
            reduction in the rate of fire spread, fire duration and  
            intensity, fuel ignitability, or ignition of the tree crowns.   
            Additionally, surface fuels (e.g., logging slash and debris,  
            low bush, deadwood) that could promote wildfire must be  
            chipped, burned, or otherwise removed from all areas of the  
            timber operations. 

            This bill essentially extends the 150 foot defensible space  
            exemption to 300 feet.  This may be too broad, especially  
            since this bill's exemption would apply to non-habitable  
            structures where the threat to life is likely far less.   
            Additionally, according to defensible space literature, the  
            farther out the defensible space, the less thinning is needed  
            to protect the structure.

             The author and committee may wish to consider amendments that  
            limit the scope of the bill to only habitable structures.  The  
            author and committee may also wish to consider amendments that  
            apply residual stocking standards between the 150 to 300 foot  
            area to prevent over cutting.  These standards could be  








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            modeled off of the Forest Fire Prevention Exemption with some  
            exceptions.  To ensure that the 300 foot exemption is executed  
            correctly, the amendments could require a registered  
            professional forester to be involved.  To minimize the impact  
            that these operations have on the environment, the Board of  
            Forestry and Fire Prevention could be given the ability to  
            make the ultimate decision on whether this exemption should be  
            totally, partially, or not at all exempted from the Forest  
            Practice Rules.  Lastly, as a result of a drafting error, the  
            existing 150 foot exemption would be repealed by the current  
            version of the bill.  The amendments could fix this error  .

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Association of Realtors
          Personal Insurance Federation of California

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)  
          319-2092