Senate Bill 1370 (Stern) was recently signed into law and largely codifies a recently-expired executive order seeking to coordinate and expedite state permitting for wildfire mitigation projects.
The new law establishes a consolidated permitting process for state-level permits for a variety of fuel reduction projects, including removal of hazardous, dead, or dying trees; creation and maintenance of strategic fuel breaks and community defensible space; roadside vegetation management; fuel management to create more fire-resilient ecosystems’ prescribed fire’ and removal of vegetation around utility poles, lines, and rights of way. This process does not apply to projects that include the use of herbicides or projects that require issuance of an incidental take permit.
Projects are limited to the following sizes and must be completed within two years of approval (five years for prescribed fire projects):
- Projects that maintain right-of-way and maintain existing fuel breaks along utility infrastructure shall be less than 3,000 acres.
- Projects in forests to improve ecosystem health shall be less than 1,000 acres.
- Projects in chaparral, shrubland, grassland, and coastal sage scrub to remove flammable nonnative grasses and herbaceous plants shall be less than 50 acres.
Importantly, covered projects must comply with the state environmental protection plan best management practices; however, covered projects are not subject to CEQA, which will significantly reduce project costs, uncertainty, and legal delays.
Paired with recently approved budgetary augmentations to increase staffing among the relevant permitting agencies, SB 1370 is expected to significantly reduce the time it takes for entities like the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Coastal Commission to issue permits for those projects. Under the law, permits to be acted upon within 60 days of a completeness determination and include an opportunity for submission and consideration of public comment.
RCRC’s letter requesting the Governor’s signature is available HERE.
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, John Kennedy.