U.S. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, are among those who introduced a bill that would give communities impacted by wildfires greater flexibility during the cleanup and recovery process.
The Making Access to Cleanup Happen (MATCH) Act would make changes to the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program to “expedite disaster cleanup, save taxpayers money, and prevent further disasters,” according to a press release. The EWP is a federal recovery program that helps communities impacted by wildfires, floods and other natural disasters.
Specifically, the act would direct the Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to put together a list of wildfire recovery activities for potential EWP sponsors and establish a procedure for the sponsors to consult with state natural resource conservation offices, the press release said.