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. AB 1867 Page 2 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, AB 1867 Page 3 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 AB 1867 Page 4 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 AB 1867 Page 5 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