Department-Wide Programs

Department-Wide Programs wildland fire management (including transfers of funds) For necessary expenses for fire preparedness, fire suppression operations, fire science and research, emergency rehabilitation, fuels management activities, and rural fire assistance by the Department of the Interior, $952,338,000, to remain available until expended, of which not to exceed $18,427,000 shall be for the renovation or construction of fire facilities: Provided, That such funds are also available for repayment of advances to other appropriation accounts from which funds were previously transferred for such purposes: Provided further, That of the funds provided $194,000,000 is for fuels management activities: Provided further, That of the funds provided $20,470,000 is for burned area rehabilitation: Provided further, That persons hired pursuant to 43 U.S.C. 1469 may be furnished subsistence and lodging without cost from funds available from this appropriation: Provided further, That notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 1856d, sums received by a bureau or office of the Department of the Interior for fire protection rendered pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1856 et seq., protection of United States property, may be credited to the appropriation from which funds were expended to provide that protection, and are available without fiscal year limitation: Provided further, That using the amounts designated under this title of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior may enter into procurement contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, for fuels management activities, and for training and monitoring associated with such fuels management activities on Federal land, or on adjacent non-Federal land for activities that benefit resources on Federal land: Provided further, That the costs of implementing any cooperative agreement between the Federal Government and any non-Federal entity may be shared, as mutually agreed on by the affected parties: Provided further, That notwithstanding requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act, the Secretary, for purposes of fuels management activities, may obtain maximum practicable competition among: (1) local private, nonprofit, or cooperative entities; (2) Youth Conservation Corps crews, Public Lands Corps (Public Law 109-154), or related partnerships with State, local, or nonprofit youth groups; (3) small or micro-businesses; or (4) other entities that will hire or train locally a significant percentage, defined as 50 percent or more, of the project workforce to complete such contracts: Provided further, That in implementing this section, the Secretary shall develop written guidance to field units to ensure accountability and consistent application of the authorities provided herein: Provided further, That funds appropriated under this heading may be used to reimburse the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service for the costs of carrying out their responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to consult and conference, as required by section 7 of such Act, in connection with wildland fire management activities: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior may use wildland fire appropriations to enter into leases of real property with local governments, at or below fair market value, to construct capitalized improvements for fire facilities on such leased properties, including but not limited to fire guard stations, retardant stations, and other initial attack and fire support facilities, and to make advance payments for any such lease or for construction activity associated with the lease: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture may authorize the transfer of funds appropriated for wildland fire management, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $50,000,000 between the Departments when such transfers would facilitate and expedite wildland fire management programs and projects: Provided further, That funds provided for wildfire suppression shall be available for support of Federal emergency response actions: Provided further, That funds appropriated under this heading shall be available for assistance to or through the Department of State in connection with forest and rangeland research, technical information, and assistance in foreign countries, and, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall be available to support forestry, wildland fire management, and related natural resource activities outside the United States and its territories and possessions, including technical assistance, education and training, and cooperation with United States and international organizations: Provided further, That of the funds provided under this heading $383,657,000 is provided to meet the terms of section 251(b)(2)(F)(ii)(I) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended. wildfire suppression operations reserve fund (including transfers of funds) In addition to the amounts provided under the heading “Department of the Interior—Department-Wide Programs—Wildland Fire Management” for wildfire suppression operations, $300,000,000, to remain available until transferred, is additional new budget authority as specified for purposes of section 251(b)(2)(F) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985: Provided, That such amounts may be transferred to and merged with amounts made available under the headings “Department of Agriculture—Forest Service—Wildland Fire Management” and “Department of the Interior—Department-Wide Programs—Wildland Fire Management” for wildfire suppression operations in the fiscal year in which such amounts are transferred: Provided further, That amounts may be transferred to the “Wildland Fire Management” accounts in the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior only upon the notification of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations that all wildfire suppression operations funds appropriated under that heading in this and prior appropriations Acts to the agency to which the funds will be transferred will be obligated within 30 days: Provided further, That the transfer authority provided under this heading is in addition to any other transfer authority provided by law. central hazardous materials fund For necessary expenses of the Department of the Interior and any of its component offices and bureaus for the response action, including associated activities, performed pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), $10,010,000, to remain available until expended.For an additional amount for a competitive grant program to fund radium decontamination and remediation at any land-grant university that has been subjected to such contamination as a result of actions of the former United States Bureau of Mines, $12,000,000.