The Rim Fire Emergency Salvage Act by Congressman McClintock was
approved today (2-6-14) by the House of Representatives as part of a larger bill,
H.R. 2954 (The Public Access and Lands Improvement Act). Title IX of
that bill comprises the Rim Fire Salvage Act.
The salvage language
is the result of consultations with Democratic offices and with the
U.S. Forest Service. The compromise language assures compliance with
all environmental laws and maintains judicial review, while assuring
that salvage can begin this spring.
“The region’s economy has
been devastated by the fire and by increasingly stringent federal
restrictions and land acquisitions that have ravaged the timber,
livestock, mineral and tourist industries,” remarked Congressman
McClintock upon passage of the legislation. “This measure means jobs
for hundreds of lumberjacks, mill workers, truckers, and all those who
support them. It means millions of dollars of economic activity and
millions of dollars of federal revenues for reforestation. The focus is
now on the Senate, which must join the House in enacting legislation
that will protect the forest and the environment and help to prevent
future cataclysmic fires.”
After passage of the measure by the
House Congressman McClintock sent the following letter to Senators
Feinstein and Boxer urging swift action on the measure in the Senate:
(Click here for PDF version)
February 6, 2014
Dear Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer:
Today
the House passed HR 2954, the Public Access and Lands Improvement Act.
Title IX of that bill comprises the Rim Fire Emergency Salvage Act.
This language is the result of consultations with the U.S. Forest Service and several Democratic congressional offices:
• It
authorizes the USFS to select acreage for salvage where there is no
wilderness designation, ESA, historic or other legal restrictions.
• It
authorizes the USFS to implement the draft EIS that is expected to be
completed by April and deems the draft as compliant with all applicable
environmental reviews. This will allow salvage to begin under their
direction in April.
• It
authorizes the USFS to modify the draft EIS in response to public
comment and allows for judicial review of the final EIS based on
ecological impacts – but it bars litigation based on process and it bars
temporary restraining orders. This will allow timely salvage of a
portion of the public lands destroyed by the fire while the final EIS is
prepared and while any judicial review proceeds.
• Finally,
it approves of the USFS using the millions of dollars raised by the
salvage for forest restoration in the devastated Sierra.
This
compromise language assures compliance with all environmental laws and
maintains judicial review, while assuring that salvage can begin this
spring.
Time is of the essence. Within a year, the timber loses
much of its salvage value and within two years it becomes worthless.
The USFS has exhausted all administrative options to accelerate the
salvage timeline. Under current law, the earliest the agency can
complete the environmental review process is August and any plan will
then be subject to indefinite delay as litigation begins.
This
region’s economy has been devastated by the fire and by increasingly
stringent federal restrictions and land acquisitions that have ravaged
the timber, livestock, mineral and tourist industries. This measure
means jobs for hundreds of lumberjacks, mill workers, truckers, and all
those who support them. It means millions of dollars of economic
activity and millions of dollars of federal revenues for reforestation.
I
urge you to act quickly either to approve this measure or send the
House legislation that is acceptable to the Senate. I hope you will
agree that there is plenty of room for compromise, but there is no
excuse for inaction.
Sincerely,
Tom McClintock
