Senator Lummis and Colleagues Introduce Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2023

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator and Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) along with several of her colleagues introduced the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2023. The legislation protects firefighters, communities and property in Wyoming and throughout the west from the devastating impacts of wildfires by creating a Clean Water Act exemption for federal, state, local and tribal firefighting agencies to use fire retardant on fires.

According to information provided by the office of Senator Lummis, the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies are currently operating under the assumption that a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit is not required for the use of fire retardant because the regulations specifically state that fire control is a “non-point source silvicultural activity” and communications from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dating back to 1993 indicated a permit is not required. Environmental groups are suing the Forest Service under the Clean Water Act to require an NPDES permit to use fire retardant and have requested an injunction on the use of fire retardant until the Forest Service receives this permit, which could take years.

If the injunction is granted and fire retardant is not available for use in 2023, firefighters and individuals living in forested areas would be in greater danger and billions of dollars of infrastructure would be at risk. Companion legislation has also been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation is fully supported by the United Aerial Firefighters Association.