The abundance of rain and snowfall this winter raises the possibility that the 2023 wildfire season will be catastrophic due to the flush of new growth of underbrush. Chemical fire retardant, a valuable tool to suppress wildfires, is the subject of a lawsuit contending the chemical pollutes navigable waters.
However, a coalition of forestry and agricultural groups, and county governments have filed a motion to intervene as defendants in a suit against the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) use of fire retardants to combat wildfires, while the agency seeks a permit.
“The aerial application of fire retardant is part of Forest Service’s firefighting strategy, and it unquestionably reduces fire’s rate of spread, intensity, and danger to the public,” court documents said. “An injunction that removes this critical tool is certain to undermine health and safety and cause economic harm to communities and businesses navigating the constant threat of wildfire.”
The suit states the intervenors have a “significant, protectable interest in the outcome of the litigation as it directly relates to their community and economic interests.” Some of the intervenors include the town of Paradise, CA, which suffered the loss of an estimated 95% of the town due to a deadly fire in 2018, and Butte and Plumas counties in CA, which are primarily in USFS lands and experienced deadly wildfires in the last five years.
“Maintaining healthy forests is an economic and ecological driver throughout Northern California and beyond and is critical in safeguarding communities at imminent risk from catastrophic wildfire, but prevention is not enough,” said Matt Dias, president and CEO of California Forestry Association, an intervenor in the suit. “We must be able to combat wildfires with everything we have, and limiting the U.S. Forest Service’s ability to do so flies in the face of forest conservation.”
Background
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE) filed suit in 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, contending USFS dropped fire retardant “directly into national forest navigable waters.”
The suit states USFS is required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit under the Clean Water Act. In response to the lawsuit, USFS acknowledged that it has discharged fire retardant into navigable waters without an NPDES permit, and may in the future discharge again without a permit. However, the intervenors’ suit states that USFS is actively pursuing an NPDES permit.
Andy Stahl, FSEEE’s executive director, has contended that fire retardants do not work to save homes and said they are ineffective.
“Its use might be justified if retardant made any difference to fire outcomes. There’s no evidence it does,” Stahl told E&E News. “That makes the environmental trade-offs not worth it.”
Dias said fire retardants save lives and USFS should be allowed to use flame retardants while the permitting process is moving forward, “or we haven’t seen the worst of wildfires.” Travis Josh, president and CEO of the American Forest Resource Council, concurred in an email to WLJ sent by a representative communications agency. He said the health of its member’s private forestlands relies on prompt and effective fire suppression efforts by USFS.
Jamie Johansson, president of California Farm Bureau, said the organization supports the use of fire retardant to protect farmers and ranchers.
”Our farmers and ranchers face severe threats from wildfires that can occur in national forests and spread to agricultural lands,” Johansson said in the email. “Additionally, fires threaten the lives of livestock, disrupt grazing operations and put our rural agricultural communities in peril. We support the Forest Service’s continued use of this important firefighting tool.”
On Jan. 31, members of the Congressional Western Caucus held a special order on the House of Representatives floor to raise awareness about the case and emphasize the need for fire retardants.
“Firefighters risk their lives to protect our communities, other people, and our forests. And we should listen to them when they tell us that fire retardant makes their job safer and that it truly is an essential tool to protect lives,” said Chairman Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04).
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT-02) said wildfires burned 7.5 million acres in 2022 and the amount burned “could easily be doubled or tripled if not for the use of safe and effective fire retardants.”
Newhouse and Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01) introduced the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2023 which would provide a Clean Water Act exemption for firefighting agencies so they can continue to use fire retardant to fight wildfires. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
