Hazardous Fuels Transportation Assistance Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Hazardous Fuels Transportation Assistance Act of 2026”.

(a) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) Eligible recipient.— The term eligible recipient means—

(A) a for-profit entity;

(B) a nonprofit organization;

(C) a State;

(D) a unit of local government;

(E) an Indian Tribe; and

(F) an institution of higher education.

(2) Fireshed.— The term fireshed means a landscape-scale area, as delineated using methods developed through research conducted by the Forest Service, that represents similar source levels of community exposure to wildfire.

(3) Hazardous fuels management activity.— The term hazardous fuels management activity means a vegetation management activity conducted on National Forest System land that reduces the risk of wildfire, including mechanical thinning, mastication, timber harvest, grazing, the removal of downed or damaged timber resulting from a tornado, hurricane, ice storm, windthrow event, or other natural disaster that the Secretary determines increases the risk of wildfire, and any combination of those activities.

(4) Indian Tribe.— The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

(5) National Forest System.— The term National Forest System has the meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).

(6) Secretary.— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.

(7) State.— The term State means—

(A) each of the several States;

(B) the District of Columbia; and

(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(b) Hazardous fuels transportation grants.—

(1) Establishment and purpose.— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program to provide grants on a competitive basis to eligible recipients for the purpose of incentivizing the removal of material from a hazardous fuels management activity conducted under a contract or agreement entered into with the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, as of the date of the application submitted under paragraph (2).

(2) Application.— To be eligible to receive a grant under paragraph (1), an eligible recipient shall submit to the Secretary an application that includes, at a minimum, a description of—

(A) the project to be carried out using the grant, including the estimated cost of the project and how the grant would be used for the project; and

(B) how the project would meet the purpose described in paragraph (1), including one or more reasons the material from the hazardous fuels management activity would not be utilized without the grant.

(c) Eligible uses.— An eligible recipient that receives a grant under subsection (b) shall use the grant for one or more of the following:

(1) Transportation of byproducts from the hazardous fuels management activity, including roundwood, chips, biomass, and other byproducts, as determined by the Secretary.

(2) Costs associated with woodyards, loading facilities, scales, and custom chipping.

(3) Purchasing, modifying, or leasing equipment that shall be used primarily to facilitate the efficient transport of material from a hazardous fuels management activity, which may include equipment to process such material into a form more conducive to such transport.

(4) Maintenance of equipment directly related to the transportation of hazardous fuels from a hazardous fuels management activity.

(5) Workforce development for training and certifications necessary for projects carried out under this section, including in partnership with Indian Tribes.

(6) Any other expenses determined necessary and appropriate by the Secretary for the transport of hazardous fuels.

(d) Ineligible uses.— An eligible recipient that receives a grant under subsection (b) shall not use the grant for—

(1) construction or capital improvements, including processing facilities;

(2) stumpage or timber purchases; or

(3) any other expenses the Secretary determines ineligible.

(e) Prioritization.— In awarding grants under subsection (b), the Secretary shall give priority to proposals that would—

(1) treat hazardous fuels in high-risk firesheds, as determined by the Secretary;

(2) maximize the number of acres treated for hazardous fuels;

(3) maximize the volume of hazardous fuels to be transported;

(4) maximize the retention of existing forest products infrastructure;

(5) develop new or expand existing wood processing facilities;

(6) maximize the potential to increase the utilization of forest products long-term;

(7) utilize material from a hazardous fuels management activity as part of a project under—

(A) the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program established under section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303); or

(B) the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership program established under section 40808 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592d); and

(8) remove material from a hazardous fuels management activity using one or more of—

(A) a good neighbor agreement under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a);

(B) a stewardship contracting project entered into under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c);

(C) a self-determination contract or self-governance compact agreement entered into under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); and

(D) an agreement or contract entered into under the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–278; 118 Stat. 868).

(f) Funding.—

(1) Authorization of appropriations.— There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

(2) Limitations.—

(A) Grant amount.— The Secretary shall not expend more than $3,000,000 for any one grant under this section in any one fiscal year.

(B) Purchasing equipment.— An eligible recipient shall not use more than $250,000 of the amount of a grant under this section in any one fiscal year for purchasing equipment under subsection (c)(3).

(3) Cost-share.—

(A) In general.— Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an eligible recipient may receive a grant under this section in an amount equal to not more than 75 percent of the cost of carrying out the project under this section.

(B) Indian Tribes.— An Indian Tribe may receive a grant under this section in an amount equal to not more than 90 percent of the cost of carrying out the project under this section.