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HR 7578

TORCH Act

119th Congress Introduced by Mike Kennedy

Expedite and expand federal wildfire risk reduction by streamlining NEPA for hazard trees and utilities, boosting project sizes, and broadening tools like grazing, timber sales, an

Introduced in House
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Bill Summary · HR 7578

Summary of HR 7578 (112th Congress term noted for 119th Session) — TORCH Act

Note: The bill text provided presents the TORCH Act introduced in the 119th Congress. The summary below focuses on the substantive provisions, aims, who would be affected, and timing/operational details as described in the bill.

Overview

  • Full title: Targeted Operations to Remove Catastrophic Hazards Act (TORCH Act)
  • Purpose: To enhance the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to carry out forest management activities intended to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, among other related objectives.
  • Introduced by: Rep. Kennedy (Utah); co-sponsor: Rep. Mike Kennedy
  • Committees: Agriculture; Natural Resources

Key Provisions by Title

Title I — Hazardous Fuel Reduction Activities

  1. Sec. 101: Categorical Exclusion for High-Priority Hazard Tree Activities
    • Establishes a new categorical exclusion (CE) under NEPA for high-priority hazard tree activities.
    • Aimed to streamline approval for hazard tree work, ensuring NEPA compliance and applying extraordinary circumstances procedures only as applicable.
    • Project size cap: Exclusion may apply to projects up to 3,000 acres. Definitions:
    • High-priority hazard tree: standing tree posing visible hazard to people/properties due to deterioration, likelihood of failure, proximity (within 300 feet) to National Forest System roads/trails/recreation sites.
    • High-priority hazard tree activities: pruning, felling, disposal to mitigate risk; excludes activities in wilderness, permanent roads, areas with vegetation removal restrictions, inventoried roadless areas, etc.
  2. Sec. 102: Utilizing Timber Sales on National Forest System Land for Extreme Risk Reduction
    • Amends Section 14 of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) to:
      • Increase the timber sale value threshold from $10,000 to $50,000 (for certain actions related to extreme risk reduction).
      • Add a new subsection authorizing the Secretary, in cases of extreme risk (catastrophic wildfire, insect/disease outbreaks, wind/flood/drought, etc.), to dispose of portions of trees/forest products on National Forest System lands without requiring an appraisal, under Secretary-prescribed rules.
  3. Sec. 103: Utilizing Grazing for Wildfire Risk Reduction
    • Requires the Secretary of Agriculture (Forest Service) to develop a strategy leveraging livestock grazing to reduce wildfire risk.
    • Actions include:
      • Completing NEPA reviews to enable permitted grazing on vacant allotments during drought/disaster contexts.
      • Use of targeted grazing and temporary permits to support fuels reduction and control invasive grasses.
      • Consider post-fire restoration and recovery use of grazing where appropriate.
      • Employ all applicable authorities to implement these strategies.
  4. Sec. 104: Amendments to the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) for Wildfire Mitigation
    • Cross-boundary wildfire mitigation: extends emphasis from 2023 to 2030.
    • Wildfire resilience project size: raises eligible project size from 3,000 acres to 10,000 acres.
  5. Sec. 105: Amendment to Fuel Breaks in Forests and Other Wildland Vegetation
    • Increases eligible project size for fuel breaks from 3,000 to 10,000 acres (as referenced to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act framework).

Title II — Good Neighbor Authority

  1. Sec. 201: Modification of Revenue/Payments under Good Neighbor Agreements
    • Expands inclusion of Indian tribes in Good Neighbor authorities.
    • Changes how timber sale proceeds are treated:
      • Proceeds from timber sales by governors, Indian tribes, or counties under Good Neighbor agreements retained by the respective entity to fund restoration/authorized restoration services. Surplus funds may be used for other restoration services under Good Neighbor agreements.
    • Revisions to conforming amendments to include Indian tribes explicitly.
    • Effective date: Applies to projects initiated on or after enactment, or those started after the 2018 Farm Bill (Public Law 115-334) effective dates.

Title III — Electrical Utility Lines Rights-of-Way and Related Vegetation Management

  1. Sec. 301: Vegetation Management, Facility Inspection, and O&M Related to Electric Transmission/Distribution Rights-of-Way
    • Expands authority to address hazard trees within 50 feet of power lines (instead of 10 feet previously) on lands managed by the relevant agency.
    • Adds consultation with private landowners regarding hazard trees identified for removal from private lands.
    • Review/approval process updated to automatic approval timelines: plans without modifications auto-approved after 60 days; plans with modifications auto-approved after 67 days.
  2. Sec. 302: Categorical Exclusion for Electric Utility Rights-of-Way
    • Designates forest management activities related to utility rights-of-way as a NEPA categorical exclusion, with carve-outs:
      • Excludes activities within National Wilderness Preservation System components or lands where vegetation removal is restricted by law.
    • Prohibits use of the CE for establishing permanent roads; allows maintenance on existing roads; decommissioning of temporary roads after 3 years post-activity.
    • Exclusion not subject to extraordinary circumstances provisions; certain laws (Endangered Species Act, NHPA) may not apply in CE contexts.
  3. Sec. 303: Permits and Agreements with Electrical Utilities
    • Allows the Secretary to permit cutting/removing trees near distribution/transmission lines without a separate timber sale if consistent with land management plans.
    • Requires utility to share net proceeds from sale of removed material with the Forest Service, after transportation costs, when applicable.
    • Clarifies that sale of removed material is not mandatory.

Title IV — Reform of Administrative Requirements

  1. Sec. 401: Nonapplicability of Certain ESA Consultation Requirements
    • For forest plans approved/amended under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RRPRA), the Secretary would not be required to redo certain ESA Section 7 consultations when new species are listed or critical habitat is designated, or new information reveals effects not previously considered.
  2. Sec. 402: Amendment to CE for Collaborative Restoration Projects (HFRA)
    • In HFRA, raises the CE for collaborative restoration projects from 3,000 acres to 10,000 acres.

Who and What Would Be Affected

  • Federal land managing agencies: U.S. Department of Agriculture (Forest Service) and Department of the Interior (Bureau of Land Management and other land management bureaus).
  • National Forest System and other public lands under federal management.
  • Stakeholders:
    • Federal agencies responsible for forest management, wildfire mitigation, and land use planning.
    • Private landowners (through expanded consultation and cross-boundary coordination provisions).
    • Electric utilities operating transmission and distribution rights-of-way.
    • Governors, Indian tribes, and counties participating under Good Neighbor Authority programs.
    • Communities at risk of wildfires, via accelerated hazard tree work, grazing strategies, and larger-scale fuel reduction projects.

Timing and Procedural Aspects

  • Timeline defaults:
    • Sec. 101: CE for hazard trees to be developed within 1 year of enactment.
    • CEs exempt from extraordinary circumstances procedures (36 CFR 220.6 and 40 CFR 1508.4).
    • Temporary roads from CE projects must be decommissioned within 3 years after activity completion.
  • Project size thresholds increased for several programs:
    • Hazardous fuel projects: 3,000 acres CE cap (Sec. 101) remains a limit for the exclusion.
    • HFRA and related restoration/ collaborative projects increased from 3,000 to 10,000 acres (Secs. 104, 402).
  • Revenue and Good Neighbor Authority:
    • Proceeds allocation and use expanded to include Indian tribes in added conformity provisions (Sec. 201).
  • Utilities:
    • 50-foot hazard tree standard near power lines (Sec. 301).
    • Rights-of-way CE (Sec. 302) with explicit road-related restrictions.
    • Proceeds sharing clause for material removed near power lines (Sec. 303).

Bottom Line

The TORCH Act seeks to accelerate and expand forest management actions aimed at reducing catastrophic wildfire risk through:
- Streamlined NEPA processes for high-priority hazard tree work and utility-related activities.
- Expanded use of timber sales and grazing as risk-reduction tools.
- Larger project-size thresholds for wildfire resilience and collaborative restoration efforts.
- Expanded Good Neighbor Authority participation to include Indian tribes.
- Administrative reforms to reduce duplicative ESA consultations in certain planning contexts.
- Strong emphasis on cross-boundary coordination and rapid implementation on public lands.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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