H.R. 9827

119 HR 9827 IH: Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act of 2026
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-07-22
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 9827  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   July 22, 2026   Mr. Bentz  (for himself,  Mr. Thompson of Mississippi ,  Mr. Westerman ,  Mr. Ezell ,  Mr. Gallagher ,  Mr. Bera ,  Mr. Miller of Ohio ,  Mr. Guest ,  Ms. Schrier ,  Mr. Latta ,  Mr. Van Orden , and  Mr. Fine ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Energy and Commerce    A BILL
To amend the Clean Air Act to modify the definition of renewable biomass for purposes of the renewable fuel standard, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act of 2026  .
2.
Definition of renewable biomass
Section 211(o)(1)(I) of the Clean Air Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(1)(I) ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating each of clauses (i) through (vii) as subclauses (I) through (VII), respectively, and indenting appropriately;
(2)
in the matter preceding subclause (I) (as so redesignated), by striking  The term  and inserting the following:
(i)
In general
The term
 ;
(3)
by striking subclause (II) (as so redesignated) and inserting the following:
(II)
Materials generated from forest products manufacturing and wood products manufacturing, including wood residuals, paper residuals, sawdust, wood, wood chips, shavings, bark, sanderdust, and paper recycling residuals (excluding paper in the form and type commonly recycled).
  ;
(4)
by striking subclauses (IV) and (V) (as so redesignated) and inserting the following:
(IV)
Trees, shrubs, and parts of trees or shrubs, including slash and storm debris, from—
(aa)
non-Federal land that—
(AA)
is managed under a forest sustainability certification program;
(BB)
is classified for State or local property tax purposes as forest land, timberland, or land in current use for forestry; or
(CC)
in accordance with clause (ii), the landowner certifies to the Administrator is being managed for long-term timber production;
(bb)
land within the National Forest System (as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 ( 16 U.S.C. 1609(a) )) or public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1702 )), if the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable and in accordance with clause (ii), certifies to the Administrator, directly or through an authorized officer, that the materials are—
(AA)
by-products from commercial or noncommercial land management activities or material generated from fuel reduction treatments, ecological restoration projects, or pre-commercial thinning;
(BB)
not reasonably suitable for use as a sawlog, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable; and
(CC)
sourced in a manner consistent with all applicable Federal laws and regulations governing forest management activities and the applicable forest plan or resource management plan; or
(cc)
land—
(AA)
owned by an Indian tribe; or
(BB)
held in trust by, or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by, the United States for an Indian tribe or individual Indian.
(V)
Vegetation obtained from—
(aa)
within the reasonably established defensible space of a structure or an infrastructure asset, including a residential structure, a commercial building, and a public facility, in accordance with applicable local law or, if there is no applicable local law, the most recent publication of the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code of the International Code Council; or
(bb)
wildfire risk reduction activities within the wildland-urban interface (as defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 ( 16 U.S.C. 6511 )).
   ; and
(5)
by adding at the end the following:
(ii)
Certification
A certification to the Administrator under this subparagraph may be in the form of a letter given to the person seeking to generate credits under this subsection from—
(I)
with respect to the certification required under clause (i)(IV)(aa)(CC), the non-Federal landowner; and
(II)
with respect to the certification required under clause (i)(IV)(bb), the local office of the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior with authority over the applicable forest plan or resource management plan.
(iii)
Savings clause
Nothing in clause (i)(IV)(bb) requires the applicable forest plan or resource management plan to expressly identify renewable fuel or biomass energy as an intended end use of the material, provided that the underlying project, removal, sale, or disposition of the material is otherwise authorized and consistent with the applicable forest plan or resource management plan.
 .