The House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan effort to support forest health and decrease risks of devastating wildfires, one day after the Biden administration lambasted the bill.
In a 268-151 vote, the Fix Our Forests Act passed on Tuesday with 55 Democrats breaking with the administration and voting in favor of the legislation. H.R. 8790 was first introduced by Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) in June.
It seeks to ensure faster approvals for forest management projects in areas that are at high risk for wildfires , such as forest thinning and chemical or reseeding and planting treatments. Other projects detailed in the bill include reducing vegetation near power lines, removing dead or dying trees, and the use of biochar to improve soil on forest floors.
It would also reform timelines regarding judicial reviews around these “fireshed management projects,” reducing the time frame to seek a review to just 120 days after an intent to carry out the project is published.
The projects would no longer be subject to reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act. Commonly known NEPA, this environmental law requires the federal government to evaluate the environmental effects of major actions and decisions by agencies.
For months, Republicans have been pushing for NEPA reforms through a number of bills, particularly by limiting its scope when it comes to permitting reviews . When introducing the forests bill this summer, Westerman said our nation's forests are in “jeopardy” due to “bureaucratic red tape.”
"America’s forests are in jeopardy,” Westerman said at the time. “Insufficient management driven by bureaucratic red tape and frivolous litigation have turned vast swaths of our federal forests into overgrown and unhealthy tinderboxes.”
The legislation has mixed support from environmental organizations as lawmakers have touted backing from groups like the American Forest Resource Council, the American Loggers Council, the Forest Landowners Association, and the Property and Environment Research Center.
However in June, more than 85 environmental groups voiced opposition to the bill, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Environment America, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council. The groups claimed the legislation would undermine environmental laws, limit judicial review, and limit public engagement.
“This legislation purports to be about sound forest management and fire, but it is really about stifling citizen voices, removing science from land management decisions, and legislating a large-scale rollback of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on millions of acres of federal lands,” the groups said in a letter . “Its sweeping provisions remove scientific review and accountability to benefit the short-term interests of extractive industries.”
Despite having bipartisan backing, the White House came out against the legislation on Monday saying it would undermine certain provisions causing a number of unintended consequences. In the released statement , the Office of Management and Budget did say it appreciated that parts of the bill aligned with recommendations released by the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission released last year.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“H.R. 8790, however, also contains a number of provisions that would undermine basic protections for communities, lands, waters, and wildlife; reduce opportunities for public input; and heighten the likelihood for conflict, litigation, and delay on needed forest restoration and resilience work,” the statement continued. “The Administration therefore strongly opposes this bill.”
Before heading to President Joe Biden’s desk, the bill now must pass in the Democratic-led Senate , though it is unlikely to receive a vote. The administration stopped short of vowing to veto the bill on Monday.
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