H.R. 1586 would authorize federal, state, local, and tribal firefighting agencies to use approved fire retardants to prevent and suppress wildfires without first obtaining a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The bill also would prohibit state courts from issuing injunctions against state or tribal entities’ dispersal of aerial fire retardants as part of wildfire suppression or control. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1586 would not affect direct spending or revenues. CBO has not estimated the bill’s effects on spending subject to appropriation. The bill would impose an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) that would not exceed the annual threshold established in UMRA ($100 million in 2024, adjusted annually for inflation). The bill contains no private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
