In this section:
The term "Federal land" means-
The term "FLAME Fund" means a FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund established by subsection (b).
The term "relevant congressional committees" means the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate.
The term "Secretary concerned" means-
There is established in the Treasury of the United States the following accounts:
The FLAME Funds shall be available to cover the costs of large or complex wildfire events and as a reserve when amounts provided for wildfire suppression and Federal emergency response in the Wildland Fire Management appropriation accounts are exhausted.
A FLAME Fund shall consist of the following:
There are authorized to be appropriated to the FLAME Funds such amounts as are necessary to carry out this section.
It is the intent of Congress that, for fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, the amounts requested by the President for a FLAME Fund should be not less than the amount estimated by the Secretary concerned as the amount necessary for that fiscal year for wildfire suppression activities of the Secretary that meet the criteria specified in subsection (e)(2)(B)(i).
It is the sense of Congress that for fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter-
Amounts in a FLAME Fund shall remain available to the Secretary concerned until expended.
The Secretary concerned shall notify the relevant congressional committees if the Secretary estimates that only 60 days worth of funds remain in the FLAME Fund administered by that Secretary.
If a FLAME Fund has insufficient funds, the Secretary concerned administering the other FLAME Fund may transfer amounts to the FLAME Fund with insufficient funds. Not more than $100,000,000 may be transferred from a FLAME Fund during any fiscal year under this authority.
Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), amounts in a FLAME Fund shall be available to the Secretary concerned to transfer to the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account of that Secretary to pay the costs of wildfire suppression activities of that Secretary that are separate from amounts for wildfire suppression activities annually appropriated to that Secretary under the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account of that Secretary.
Amounts in a FLAME Fund shall be available for transfer under paragraph (1) only after that Secretary concerned issues a declaration that a wildfire suppression event is eligible for funding from the FLAME Fund.
A declaration by the Secretary concerned under subparagraph (A) may be issued only if-
Use of a FLAME Fund for emergency wildfire suppression activities on State land, private land, and tribal land shall be consistent with any existing agreements in which the Secretary concerned has agreed to assume responsibility for wildfire suppression activities on the land.
For fiscal year 2011 and subsequent fiscal years, the Secretary concerned shall request funds within the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account of that Secretary for regular wildfire suppression activities that do not meet the criteria specified in subsection (e)(2)(B)(i).
The Secretary concerned may not transfer funds from non-fire accounts to the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account of that Secretary unless amounts in the FLAME Fund of that Secretary and any amounts appropriated to that Secretary for the purpose of wildfire suppression will be exhausted within 30 days.
The Secretary concerned shall account and report on amounts transferred from the respective FLAME Fund in a manner that is consistent with existing National Fire Plan reporting procedures.
The Secretary concerned shall submit to the relevant congressional committees and make available to the public an annual report that-
Consistent with the schedule provided in subparagraph (C), the Secretary concerned shall submit to the relevant congressional committees an estimate of anticipated wildfire suppression costs for the applicable fiscal year.
The methodology for developing the estimates under subparagraph (A) shall be subject to periodic independent review to ensure compliance with subparagraph (D).
The Secretary concerned shall submit an estimate under subparagraph (A) during-
An estimate of anticipated wildfire suppression costs shall be developed using the best available-
The authority of the Secretary concerned to use the FLAME Fund established for that Secretary shall terminate at the end of the third fiscal year in which no appropriations to, or withdrawals from, that FLAME Fund have been made for a period of three consecutive fiscal years. Upon termination of such authority, any amounts remaining in the affected FLAME Fund shall be transferred to, and made a part of, the Wildland Fire Management appropriation account of the Secretary concerned for wildland suppression activities.
43 U.S.C. § 1748a
EDITORIAL NOTES
CODIFICATIONSection was enacted as part of the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Act of 2009, also known as the FLAME Act of 2009, and also as part of the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010, and not as part of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 which comprises this chapter.