Washington, D.C.—The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed Congressman LaMalfa’s bill, H.R. 3300, the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act, out of markup as part of a larger package. This legislation ensures that aerial fire retardant remains available for wildfire suppression efforts without being tied up in Clean Water Act permitting delays. The bill clarifies that federal, state, local, and tribal firefighting agencies do not need a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to use fire retardant from aircraft when responding to wildfires.
“Firefighters shouldn’t have to wait on a permit to fight a fire. With wildfire racing toward homes and forests, limiting or delaying the use of fire retardant due to waiting for bureaucracy to permit it is backward logic that gets people hurt and leaves entire landscapes scorched,” said Rep. LaMalfa. “Aerial retardant has been used safely for decades. What these lawsuits and delays really do is handcuff the very people trying to stop disaster. I’m glad to see this bill pass through committee, and I’ll keep working to make sure our firefighters can do their jobs without interference from fringe lawsuits or red tape.”
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