Any town that simply waits for federal permission to conduct normal day to day business is no longer a town; it is a federal protectorate. Notify the forest service when the tractors will be there, send the janitor to court when they sue, and get on with the business of being a town.
And when the judge looks at the janitor and asks why he or she is there representing the city, have the janitor note that everyone else is busy restoring the damage from a disaster, and they’re simply here to clean up the mess.
Excellent!
That sounds very good on paper. Here’s the problem: The Forest Service will move in, with banned to the city power equipment, and rip up the pipes. Then they’ll send the city two things. 1) A permanent refusal and 2) The bill for tearing up the pipes.