BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2142 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2142 (Chesbro) As Amended August 19, 2014 2/3 vote. Urgency ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | |May 8, 2014 |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 21, 2014) | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (vote not relevant) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |COMMITTEE VOTE: |8-1 |(August 25, 2014) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur | |(Nat. Res.) | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES. SUMMARY : Adds Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties to the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project (FFP Pilot Project) created by AB 744 (Dahle), Chapter 647, Statutes of 2013. The Senate amendments : 1)Delete the Assembly version of this bill. 2)Add Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties to the FFP Pilot Project. 3)Add emergency regulation authority and an urgency clause. EXISTING LAW : Pursuant to the Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act (FPA): 1)Prohibits any person from conducting timber operations unless a timber harvest plan (THP) has been prepared by a registered professional forester and approved by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE). 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)Establishes the Forest Fire Prevention Exemption (18-Inch Exemption) for tree harvesting that meets specific conditions, including the following: AB 2142 Page 2 a) 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, or in an area prioritized as a shaded fuel break in a community wildfire protection plan approved by a public fire agency, 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. b) The harvesting must occur on parcels of 300 acres or less; c) The harvesting must decrease fuel continuity (both vertically and horizontally); d) 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; e) A registered professional forester must prepare the notice of exemption; f) The level of residual stocking must be consistent with maximum sustained production of high-quality timber products; and, g) The activities must comply with the regulations that protect archaeological sites. 3)Establishes the FFP Pilot Project, which is a three-year pilot project limited to the Sierra Nevada Region and Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity Counties, that expands the 18-Inch Exemption by allowing the removal of trees up to 24 inches in stump diameter. Limits the FFP Pilot Project to areas that CALFIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map indicates are high, very high, or extreme fire threat zones. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS : Last year, the Legislature passed AB 744, which created the three-year FFP Pilot Project. Once the implementing regulations are adopted later this year, the FFP pilot project will AB 2142 Page 3 allow forest fuel treatments to occur without a THP if, among other things, thinning is limited to trees no bigger than 24 inches in stump diameter - previously, 18 inches was the standard, which proved to be too restrictive for meaningful fuel treatment projects. Additionally, AB 744 does not allow clear cutting and it imposes specific post-harvest requirements to ensure over-cutting does not occur. This three-year pilot project, however, is limited to inland California, which has a very different ecosystem and fuel characteristics compared to the coast. Since the coastal forests are also vulnerable to catastrophic wild fires, this bill extends AB 744 to parts of the coast (i.e., Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties). This bill incorporates all of the standards contained in AB 744. It should be noted that issues, such as surface fuel depth standards, are not specifically prescribed in the FFP Pilot Project statutes. There are distinct differences between inland and coastal surface fuels and the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection will have to use its expertise to determine the appropriate standards for the coastal counties. This bill contains an emergency regulation provision and an urgency clause to ensure Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties can be part of the FFP Pilot Project as soon as possible. Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0005480