II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 796 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 14, 2023 Ms. Lummis (for herself, Mr. Crapo , Mr. Risch , Mr. Daines , and Mr. Sullivan ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To exempt discharges of fire retardant by Federal land management agencies, State governments, political subdivisions of States, and Tribal governments from the permitting requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2023 . 2. Permitting requirements for certain discharges of fire retardant (a) Definition of Federal land management agency In this section, the term Federal land management agency means— (1) the Forest Service; (2) the National Park Service; (3) the Bureau of Land Management; (4) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; (5) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and (6) the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (b) No permitting required Notwithstanding any provision of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. ), a permit under section 402 of such Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1342 ) shall not be required for the discharge of fire retardant in connection with fire suppression, control, or prevention activities carried out by a Federal land management agency, a State government, a political subdivision of a State, or a Tribal government.