§5188 Timber Sale Contracts

Summary

When the Agriculture or Interior Department has a timber sale contract that does not protect the buyer from major physical change (not caused by the buyer) before building a road or other facility, and a major disaster forces the buyer to do extra construction, the United States will pay those extra costs if the Secretary estimates they are: more than $1,000 for sales under 1,000,000 board feet; more than $1 per thousand board feet for sales of 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 board feet; or more than $3,000 for sales over 3,000,000 board feet. If damage is so great that repair or rebuilding is not practical, the Secretary may allow the contract to be canceled even if the contract says otherwise. The Agriculture Secretary may shorten the public notice for national forest timber sales to seven days when the sale will help rebuild a disaster area, support the local economy, or salvage or protect timber. The President may give grants to state or local governments to remove disaster‑damaged timber from private lands. Those governments can reimburse people for actual removal costs, but only up to the amount those costs exceed the timber’s salvage value.