Senate Bill 15-022: Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant Program

• Creates a wildfire risk reduction grant program administered by the department to fund hazardous forest fuel reduction treatments in wildland-urban interface areas throughout Colorado.

• Defines hazardous forest fuel reduction treatment to include mechanical, manual, and pile burning fire treatments that remove or reduce vegetative fuel to diminish catastrophic wildfire damage and enhance emergency personnel's ability to influence wildfire spread.

• Dedicates up to 25% of grant funds to capacity-building efforts providing resources to local governments, community groups, and collaborative forestry groups for site-based fuel reduction treatments.

• Requires grant applicants to develop plans for utilizing woody materials generated by projects, including traditional forest products and biomass energy, with technical support available from the Colorado state forest service.

• Transfers $1 million from the severance tax operational fund to the wildfire risk reduction fund for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, with this provision repealing effective July 1, 2017.