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Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019) |
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R652. Natural Resources, Forestry, Fire and State Lands |
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R652-121. Wildland Fire Suppression Fund |
| R652-121-100. Authority |
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This rule implements Article XVIII of the Utah Constitution and Section 65A-8-204 and provides for administration of the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund under the authority of Section 65A-8-207. |
| R652-121-200. Wildland Supression Fund |
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1. The Wildland Fire Suppression Fund may be used to pay the costs of wildland fire suppression on state-owned land and for wildland fire suppression costs except initial attack costs on non-federal land within the jurisdiction of a county, municipality, or other eligible entity that has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Division and is complying with the terms of the cooperative agreement. 2. A county, municipality, or other eligible entity without a cooperative agreement or one with a revoked cooperative agreement shall be responsible to pay for all wildland fire suppression costs on non-federal land within its jurisdiction within 90 days after receiving a bill from the Division for such costs, subject to a right to an informal appeal to the State Forester. Any appeal must be submitted to the Division in writing within 90 days of receiving the bill. The State Forester may conduct an investigation, hold an informal hearing, or request additional information before making a final decision. |
| R652-121-300. Payment of Wildland Fire Suppression Fund Costs |
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1. After an eligible entity has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Division, all wildland fire suppression costs beyond initial attack within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity will be paid by the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. 2. Area managers will verify to the state forester in writing that an eligible entity has a cooperative agreement. 3. Each participating entity must make a good faith effort to recover suppression costs for negligently-caused wildland fires. If the participating eligible entity refuses to make a good faith effort to recover suppression costs from a negligent party for a wildland fire without approval from the State Forester, the suppression costs for that fire shall not be eligible for payment from the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. The State Forester will determine if a good faith effort has been made to recover suppression cost. 4. Wildland fire suppression costs recovered under Section 65A-3-3 will be repaid to the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. |
| R652-121-400. Revocation of Participation in Fund |
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1. Participation in the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund may be revoked for failure to: (a) enter into a cooperative agreement with the Division, (b) comply with the terms of the cooperative agreement with the Division; or (c) fulfill its participation commitment. 2. The division will notify a participating entity in writing of any breach of the cooperative agreement. 3. Failure to remedy a breach may result in revocation of the entity's cooperative agreement pursuant to the terms of the cooperative agreement which shall preclude participation in the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. 4. The revocation decision may be informally appealed to the State Forester within 30 days of the notice. The State Forester may conduct an investigation, hold an informal hearing, or request additional information. The final decision of the State Forester will be sent to the entity. |
| R652-121-500. Withdrawal from Participation in Fund |
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1. An entity may withdraw from participation in the fund by revoking its cooperative agreement the end of the agreement's term by: (a) informing the division, in writing, of the eligible entity's intention to revoke the cooperative agreement; or (b) failing to sign and return it annual financial statement as described in R652-120-400(5)(e), unless an extension has been granted by the Division. |
| R652-121-600. Reinstatement of Participation in Fund |
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1. An eligible entity that voluntarily withdrew participation in the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund pursuant to R652-121-500 may enter into a new cooperative agreement with the Division and become a participating entity. 2. An eligible entity whose participation in the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund was revoked by the division pursuant to R652-121-400 may enter into a new cooperative agreement with the Division and become a participating entity only after remedying the breach that resulted in the revocation. If the revocation was due to failure to fulfill the participation commitment for one or more years, the eligible entity shall agree to fulfill the previous participation commitments during the first three-year term of the new cooperative agreement in addition to the participation commitments for each year of the cooperative agreement. |
| R652-121-700. Definition of Eligible Suppression and Presuppression Costs. |
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1. After the County's approved fire suppression budget has been depleted, all fire suppression costs that occur during the fire season, as defined in R652-121-300, directly related to the control of wildfires on forest, range and watershed lands within the unincorporated area of a participating county are eligible for coverage by the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. The costs of resources directly involved in fire suppression efforts that are paid from the county's wildland fire suppression account are eligible. The county must notify the state forester in writing when the county's budget for normal fire suppression costs has been expended. Area managers will verify to the state forester in writing that a county's fire suppression budget has been depleted. 2. A good faith effort must be made by the counties to recover suppression costs for human caused fires. If the county has evidence that indicates a responsible party for a fire and chooses not to proceed, suppression cost for that fire is not eligible for reimbursement from the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. After consultation between the county and state, the state forester will determine if a good faith effort has been made to recover suppression cost. 3. Wildland Fire suppression costs recovered under Section 65A-3-4 will be repaid to the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. 4. Presuppression projects may be funded from the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund when approved in advance by the state forester. |
| R652-121-900. Clarification of The State's Financial Obligation For Suppression Costs. |
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If the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund is not adequate to pay all eligible fire suppression costs, prorated expenditure payments will be made to affected counties. The remaining county liability will be shared between the county and state as provided by the current agreement. |
| R652-121-1000. Agreement For County Participation in Fund. |
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Pursuant to Section 65A-8-205 a county legislative body may enter into a written agreement with the state forester to participate in the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. The written agreement to authorize a county's participation in the fund may be an addendum to the current cooperative wildland fire agreement between a county and the state forester. |
| R652-121-1100. Revocation of Participation in Fund. |
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1. A county's eligibility to participate in the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund may be revoked for failure to: (a) pay the required assessment or equity fees when due after being notified by the state forester as specified in Subsection R652-121-1100(2). (b) provide documented unincorporated acreage figures for assessment determination; or (c) provide total taxable value of unincorporated property as provided annually to the Utah State Tax Commission, Property Tax Division for the assessment determination. 2. The state forester will apprise a county in writing of any deficiency in Subsection R652-121-1100(1) within 30 days following the due date. Deficiencies not remedied within 60 days shall result in revocation of a county's participation in the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. |
| R652-121-1200. Definition of Presuppression Activities. |
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Presuppression activities are those activities related to wildfire prevention, preparedness and mitigation to reduce hazard or risk on eligible lands. Presuppression activities include fuel treatment, fuel breaks, defensible space, codes and ordinances, presuppression plans, wildland fire protection capability, wildland fire suppression training and other practices which reduce hazards or risks in the eligible areas. |
| R652-121-1300. Application Process For Presuppression Projects. |
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1. Presuppression project proposals must be submitted to the state forester in writing prior to implementation. The written proposal shall detail: (a) the location of the project, (b) the purpose of the project, (c) the methods of accomplishing the project, (d) the time line for completion of the project, (e) the resources needed and their availability, (f) itemized estimated cost for the project, and (g) other data required by the state forester. 2. Presuppression project proposals may be submitted by the counties to the state forester from March 1 through April 1 and August 1 through September 1 of each year. The counties will be notified by May 1 or October 1 of the state forester's decision on the proposed projects. |
| R652-121-1400. Limitation on Presuppression And Fire Management Incentives. |
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1. The cost of a county's approved presuppression projects shall not exceed 75% of that county's annual assessment fee for the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. 2. Presuppression projects may be cost shared at a rate between 25% and 75% of the total cost of the project. The cost share rate will be determined by the state forester for each project category on an annual basis. These cost share rates will be communicated to the counties by January 30 of each year 3. Presuppression projects may be proposed for multi-year funded projects. These multi-year funded projects may not exceed three years. Annual cost share payments to a county for a multi-year project may not exceed 75% of that county's annual assessment fee. Project proposals will be developed to reflect annual work plans and payments to complete the project over a specified number of years. 4. The costs that may be reimbursed for presuppression projects may be limited by legislative appropriation. The Division shall not authorize payments for presuppression projects that exceed 75% of the total annual assessment fees paid into the fund by participating counties. |
| R652-121-1450. Payment for Presuppression Projects. |
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1. Cost share payment for presuppression projects will be made to the counties when: (a) the project is completed, inspected and certified by the area manager; and (b) the county makes a written request for reimbursement with documented costs. |
| R652-121-1600. State Land Exclusion. |
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Wildland fire suppression costs on state-owned lands are not eligible to be covered from the Wildland Fire Suppression Fund. |