2021 California Monument Fire - Engine crew battles flames
Credit: USDA
May 30, 2023 - The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) reports on May 18th, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, along with Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) , introduced the Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act, which would support the development of facilities that make use of low-value timber from wildfire hazardous fuels reduction projects. A companion bill (H.R. 2386) was introduced in the House of Representatives in March.
The Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act would revise the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovations Grant Program by:
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Allowing grants to be used for the construction of new facilities, in addition to making improvements to existing facilities.
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Increasing the authorization from $25 million to $50 million.
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Increasing the maximum grant per facility from $1 million to $5 million.
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Increasing the federal cost-share from 35 percent to 50 percent.
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Increasing maximum size for community wood energy systems eligible for grant funding from 5 megawatts to 15 megawatts.
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Changing the program name to the Community Wood Facilities Grant Program to avoid confusion with the similarly named Wood Innovations Grant Program.
The Act would also revise the U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Grant Program. These revisions include:
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Allowing grants to be used for the construction of new facilities, in addition to making improvements to existing facilities.
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Reducing the minimum non-federal cost-share from 50 percent to 33 percent.
ABOUT RURAL COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES OF CALIFORNIA (RCRC)
The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) is a thirty-seven member county strong service organization that champions policies on behalf of California’s rural counties. RCRC is dedicated to representing the collective unique interests of its membership, providing legislative and regulatory representation at the State and Federal levels, and providing responsible services for its members to enhance and protect the quality of life in rural California counties. To learn more about RCRC, visit rcrcnet.org and follow @RuralCounties on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Source: RCRC
