Padilla, Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Boost Rural Water Infrastructure and Wildfire Preparedness

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and John Curtis (R-Utah), members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, June 18 introduced the FIRE SMART Act, bipartisan legislation to expand funding eligibility for projects with fire suppression benefits in high-risk rural areas.

This bill would help build rural communities’ resiliency by optimizing water infrastructure to provide the flow necessary for emergency responders to save lives and property during an active wildfire. The legislation would amend the Environmental Protection Agency’s or EPA drinking water state revolving funds to expand eligibility for water infrastructure projects that have both drinking water and wildfire suppression benefits, and are in communities at high risk for wildfires with fewer than 50,000 residents.

The 2021 Caldor Fire proved this strategy works when combined with strategic fuel reduction and fire-adapted community practices. Neighborhoods like Christmas Valley in Lake Tahoe that used this three-part defense strategy survived. Tahoe Water for Fire’s Caldor Fire Story details this success

Details: Full text of the bill is available here.

Full bill summary is available here