# Plain Language Summary: Post-Fire Flooding and Debris Flow Act of 2022

When a major wildfire burns through an area, it creates a serious problem that most people don't think about: the burned land becomes vulnerable to severe flooding and debris flows. Without vegetation to hold the soil in place, heavy rains can cause mudslides, flash floods, and debris to rush down hillsides, destroying homes, roads, and infrastructure in their path. This bill addresses that problem by making it easier for the federal government to help communities prepare for and prevent these post-fire disasters.

The bill modifies existing federal disaster assistance rules to specifically include post-wildfire flooding and debris flow as something the government can help prevent and mitigate. More importantly, it increases the federal government's financial commitment to these prevention efforts. Previously, the federal government could contribute up to 75 percent of the cost of hazard mitigation projects. This bill changes that to guarantee at least 75 percent federal funding, which means communities don't have to shoulder as much of the financial burden when they're trying to protect themselves from post-fire flooding. This could include projects like installing erosion control measures, clearing debris from streams, or building protective barriers on hillsides.

For people living in or near areas that have experienced wildfires, this bill means more federal resources available to prevent the secondary disasters that often follow the fires themselves. Communities in wildfire-prone states like California, Colorado, and Oregon would be the primary beneficiaries, as they could access federal funds more readily to implement protective measures before the next heavy rain season arrives. The bill essentially recognizes that post-fire flooding is a predictable disaster that deserves the same level of federal emergency assistance as the wildfire itself.

Post-Fire Flooding and Debris Flow Act of 2022

Huffman, Jared

Post-Fire Flooding and Debris Flow Act of 2022 This bill makes changes to eligibility under the hazard mitigation grant program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to include mitigating and preventing post-wildfire flooding and debris flow. Specifically, the bill requires the federal share of hazard mitigation assistance for mitigating and preventing post-wildfire flooding and debris flow to be not less than 75% of the cost (currently, the President may contribute up to 75% of the cost).