Amended in Senate August 18, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 21, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2465

Introduced by Assembly Member Chesbro

February 21, 2014

An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, relating to forestry.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2465, as amended, Chesbro. Burning of lands: private burns.

Existing law authorizes any person, firm, or corporation, or any combination thereof, that owns or controls brush-covered land within a state responsibility area to apply to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for permission to burn the brush from the land. Existing law requires the department to provide advisory service to applicants for burn permits as to the precautions to be taken by the applicant to prevent damage to the property of others by reason of the prescribed burning, and to provide standby fire protection, as available.

This bill would require the department, by July 1, 2015, in consultation with the State Air Resources begin delete Board and end delete begin insert Board, end insert local air districts, begin insert and other relevant organizations and individuals, end insert to develop begin delete a page on the department’s end delete begin insert , an end insert Internet Web site that provides begin insert the public end insert certain information relating to prescribed burns, including information on the regulations that govern prescribed burns for forest fuel treatment, and to develop a uniform prescribed burn template begin delete to assist a person conducting a prescribed burn, as provided. end delete begin insert for forest landowners that provides standardized procedures associated with planning and implementation of a prescribed burn and meets specified objectives. The bill would authorize the department to contract with an institution of the University of California to perform any of these requirements. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is
added to Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Public Resources
Code, to read:

 

Article 4.  Forestland Fuel Hazard Reduction

 

4495.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

(a) For millennia, fire has shaped and renewed
the ecosystems of California’s forestlands. In many parts of the
state, historical fire regimes were frequent, with fires occurring as
often as every begin delete 5 end delete begin insert end insert begin insert 3 end insert to 10 years. Some of these fires were naturally
ignited by lightning, but fire was also an important tool for Native
Americans, who used it to promote the growth of certain plants
they relied on for food, medicine, and materials to make baskets,
string, and shelter.

(b) For begin delete the last 100 to 150 years, end delete begin insert more than a century, end insert states
and the federal government have adopted fire suppression policies
that have resulted in high fuel accumulations begin insert and significant
ecological impacts end insert on forestlands. This has been reflected in the
increasingly severe fire seasons in recent years with more acres
burned, increased number of catastrophic fires, problematic
containment and suppression, begin delete and end delete increased financial begin delete costs. end delete begin insert costs,
and reductions in resiliency and biodiversity of California’s
fire-adapted ecosystems. In addition, implementation of fire
suppression policies have impacted tribal communities throughout
the state, and continue to threaten cultural resources, practices,
ceremonies, and cultural identity. end insert

(c) The 2013 Rim Fire demonstrated the dangers and cost of
high fuel accumulations on forestlands. The Rim Fire burned more
than 250,000 acres over a period of 69 days; caused at least
hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and environmental
damage; destroyed significant habitat for a number of California’s
rarest animals; blanketed large swaths of northern California and
northern Nevada with thick smoke; threatened reservoirs, such as
Hetch Hetchy; and demanded more than $125 million in
firefighting costs. The fire caused the Governor to declare states
of emergency in the Counties of begin delete Tuolumne, end delete Mariposa, begin delete and end delete San
begin delete Francisco end delete begin insert Francisco, and Tuolumne end insert and the President of the United
States to make a Major Disaster Declaration. According to federal
forest ecologists, the Rim Fire’s exponential growth was tied to a
century’s worth of fuel left behind due to historic policies of fire
suppression. The lack of fire over the years had led to overgrown
and unhealthy forests. In fact, the fire slowed only after hitting
areas that had burned in the past two decades due to prescribed
and natural burns.

(d) Many states and the federal government have been taking
measures to increase the use of prescribed burning as a vegetation
management tool to reduce the naturally occurring buildup of
vegetative fuels on forestlands, thereby reducing the risk and
severity of wildfires and lessening the loss of life and property.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, National Parks Service, United States Forest Service,
Bureau of Land Management, and United States Fire
Administration are part of an interagency strategy that has adopted
direction and guidance for prescribed burn planning and
implementation. These agencies have created a formal prescribed
fire plan template as part of this effort. Moreover, several states
have laws that promote prescribed burning and approximately
one-half of the states in the country have prescribed fire councils.

begin insert

(e) Prescribed burning is recognized as an important tool in
the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s 2010 Strategic
Fire Plan for California. This plan includes the objective of
increasing “public education and awareness in support of
ecologically sensitive and economically efficient vegetation
management activities, including prescribed fire, forest thinning
and other fuels treatment projects.”

end insert begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert  In addition to reducing the frequency and severity of
wildfires, prescribed burning of forestlands helps to prepare sites
for replanting and natural seeding, to control insects and diseases,
and to increase productivity. begin insert It is also an important tool for
increasing the fire resilience and heterogeneity of California’s
diverse landscapes, and for creating, restoring, and maintaining
critical habitats, resources, and ecosystem services. end insert

begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert (g) end insert  Prescribed burning is often the most cost-effective, efficient
fuel treatment option for forestlands. In some circumstances, costs
may be a challenge when preburn thinning is required to avoid fire
escape during burns. In California, some of these costs may be
offset through existing timber harvest permit exemptions (for
example, the Forest Fire Prevention Pilot Project Exemption) that
allow landowners to harvest timber to offset the cost of thinning
begin insert or burning end insert .

begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (h) end insert  While prescribed burning inherently creates wood smoke,
this smoke pales in comparison to the air quality issues created by
catastrophic wildfires. Therefore, by reducing the threat of
catastrophic wildfires, prescribed burning can have net air quality
benefits that are significant to protecting public health.

begin insert

(i) Forest ecosystems are crucial for absorbing and storing
atmospheric carbon; however, catastrophic wildfires impede the
forest’s ability to sequester carbon. Accelerating the pace and
scale of prefire treatments, such as prescribed fire, promises to
help modify future wildfire impacts and thus protect our forests’
ability to sequester carbon.

end insert begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert (j) end insert  Though prescribed burning is widely recognized as an
effective, powerful management tool, it is complex in nature and
highly regulated. Successful implementation of prescribed burning
requires careful planning, specific weather conditions, qualified
crews, funding, public support, and begin delete the satisfaction of end delete begin insert compliance
with end insert various laws and regulations. These variables can make it
difficult for managers to utilize prescribed burning, and they often
have to turn to more expensive, less efficient, and less ecologically
appropriate management tools, stalling the overall pace and scale
of treatment.

begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert (k) end insert  To limit the threat of catastrophic wildfires and to improve
forest health, it is a priority of the state to have an effective
prescribed burning program that begin delete requires best management
practices and utilizes the expertise of state agencies to ensure
maximum benefits and protection for the environment and the
public. end delete begin insert is crafted by prescribed burning experts at state public
universities, state agencies, and other relevant organizations. It
is also a priority of the state that its prescribed burning program
should assist forest landowners in exercising due diligence to
control prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. By
promoting due diligence, the state will be protecting the public,
reducing the risk of landowner liability, and taking steps to
encourage more responsible prescribed burning. end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Article 4 (commencing with Section 4495) is added to
Chapter 7 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

 

begin insert

Article begin insert 4. end insert   begin insert Forestland Fuel Hazard Reduction end insert

end insert

 

begin delete 4496. end delete
begin insert 4495. end insert   

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert In enacting this article, it is the intent of the
Legislature to begin delete accomplish all of the following: end delete begin insert establish a
centralized source of information that will assist forest landowners
in doing all of the following when planning and implementing
prescribed burning on forestlands: end insert

begin delete

(a) The creation of a centralized source of information for forest
landowners to assist them in using prescribed burning in a manner
that does all of the following:

end delete begin delete

(1) Complies

end delete begin insert

(1) Obtaining the required permits for prescribed burning.

end insert

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Complying end insert with existing laws and regulations.

begin delete

(2) Utilizes best management practices to ensure the forest
landowner exercises

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Exercising end insert due diligence begin delete in controlling the burn. end delete begin insert to control
prescribed burning so as to prevent fire escape. end insert

begin delete

(3) Maximizes

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Maximizing end insert benefits and protection for the environment
and the public.

(b)  begin delete The creation of end delete begin insert It is also the intent of the Legislature to
establish end insert a uniform prescribed burn begin delete template, modeled after the
federal prescribed fire plan template, that forest landowners can
utilize to conduct burns, that does all of the following: end delete begin insert template
for forest landowners that provides standardized procedures
associated with the planning and implementation of prescribed
burning and meets the objectives of subdivision (a). end insert

begin delete

(1) Complies with existing laws and regulations.

end delete begin delete

(2) Utilizes best management practices to ensure the forest
landowner exercises due diligence in controlling the burn.

end delete begin delete

(3) Maximizes benefits and protection for the environment and
the public.

end delete

begin delete 4497. end delete
begin insert 4496. end insert   

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert To assist landowners in conducting prescribed burns
for the purpose of forest fuel treatment, the begin delete department, in
consultation with the State Air Resources Board and local air
districts, shall, no later than July 1, 2015, do all end delete begin insert department shall,
no later than July 1, 2015, develop both end insert of the following:

begin delete

(a) Develop a page on the department’s

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert An end insert Internet Web site that provides begin insert the public end insert all of the
following:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  Information on the regulations governing prescribed burns
for forest fuel treatment.

begin insert

(B) Information on how to obtain the appropriate regulatory
permits for prescribed burns for forest fuel treatment.

end insert begin delete

(2) Specific

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A link to the Prescribed Fire Information Reporting System
and any other relevant end insert information about permissive burn days
and no-burn begin delete days. end delete begin insert days that the State Air Resources Board and
the local air districts deem are appropriate to provide publicly. end insert

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (D) end insert  The uniform prescribed burn template described in
begin delete subdivision (b) end delete begin insert paragraph (2) end insert .

begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (E) end insert  Contact information for the offices at the department, State
Air Resources Board, and local air begin delete districts end delete begin insert districts, and any other
relevant entity end insert that can assist a person who is interested in
begin insert conducting end insert a prescribed burn for forest fuel treatment.

begin insert

(F) If the department deems appropriate, the contact information
of organizations and individuals that the department recognizes
as qualified or certified to assist landowners in conducting
prescribed burns.

end insert begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (G) end insert  Any other information that begin delete the department determines end delete is
appropriate regarding prescribed burns for forest fuel treatment.

begin delete

(b) Develop a

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert uniform prescribed burn begin delete template. The template shall
provide assistance to a person, who is interested in conducting
forest fuel treatment through a prescribed burn, to do all of the
following: end delete begin insert template for forest landowners that provides
standardized procedures associated with the planning and
implementation of a prescribed burn and meets the objectives of
subdivision (a) of Section 4495. end insert

begin delete

(1) Use best management practices to ensure the exercise of
due diligence in controlling the burn.

(2) Minimize impacts to the environment and public health
while maximizing the fire resiliency of the treated forest.

(3) Obtain the appropriate regulatory approval from the
department and local air districts.

end delete begin insert

(b) The department may contract with an institution within the
University of California with an expertise in fire research and
outreach to perform any of the requirements of subdivision (a).

end insert begin insert

(c) The development of the Internet Web site and the uniform
prescribed burn template pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be done
in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, local air
districts, and other relevant organizations and individuals.

end insert

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CORRECTIONS:

Text--Page 2.

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