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This bill would require that all existing and future Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service rights-of-way agreements with electric utilities include plans for controlling vegetation that could interfere with transmission and cause forest fires. Such plans would enable the operator of a facility to keep it in good working order while complying with federal, state, and local requirements without having to get case-by-case or annual approvals for vegetation management activities.

Plans would be developed in consultation with the holder of the right-of-way, and facility owners would have the option of submitting a plan to federal agencies which are to be tasked with developing a process for reviewing and approving the plans. The Depts. of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior, which oversee the BLM and Forest Service, would apply its categorical exclusion process to the vegetation maintenance plans which excludes actions that have no effect on the human environment from requirements to conduct an environmental impact statement.

If vegetation on federal lands within, or hazard trees on federal lands adjacent to, an electrical transmission or distribution right-of-way granted by Interior or USDA has contacted or is imminent danger of contacting transmission or distribution lines the owner:

May prune or remove the vegetation or hazard tree to avoid disruption of electric service and risk of fire;
Would notify the local agent of the relevant agency within 24 hours of the removal.

An owner or operator of a transmission or distribution facility wouldn’t be held liable for wildfire damages, loss, or injury, including the cost of fire suppression if Interior or USDA fail to allow it to:

Operate with an approved vegetation management, facility inspection, operation, and maintenance plan based on relevant electric system reliability and fire safety standards;
Perform vegetation management activities in response to a hazard tree.

Owners or operators wouldn’t have to submit a vegetation management, facility inspection, operation, and maintenance plan if one has already been approved by Interior or USDA before this bill’s enactment.

","official_title":"To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to enhance the reliability of the electricity grid and reduce the threat of wildfires to and from electric transmission and distribution facilities on Federal lands by facilitating vegetation management on such lands.","short_title":"Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act\n\n(Sec.2)This bill requires the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to lands under their respective jurisdictions, to ensure that all existing and future rights-of-way for electrical transmission and distribution facilities on such lands include requirements for utility vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance activities that:\n\n are developed in consultation with the holder of the right-of-way; enable the owner or operator of a facility to operate and maintain it in good working order and comply with federal, state, and local electric system reliability and fire safety requirements; and minimize the need for case-by-case or annual approvals, and instead provide for expedited review and approval, for routine vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance activities within existing electrical transmission and distribution rights-of-way,...","summarized":true,"cost":0,"cost_commentary":"The CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have a negligible impact on the federal budget.","impact":"Consumers of electricity and those affected by would-be forest fires; utility companies; the BLM and the Forest Service.","argument_for":"This bipartisan bill would decrease the risk of blackouts, prevent forest fires, and lower costs for electrical utilities and the Forest Service by letting utilities more efficiently remove hazardous trees.","argument_against":"This bill doesn’t do enough to solve the problem of coordination between electrical utilities and federal land management agencies, shifts responsibility for wildfires from utilities to taxpayers.","bill_type":"hr","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"hr1873-115","bill_id":"hr1873-115","formal_id":"H.R. 1873","chamber":"house","congress":115,"last_action_at":"2017-09-19T00:00:00.000Z","active":true,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":"2017-06-21T20:40:14.000Z","debated_on":null,"congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th/house-bill/1873","plain_text_url":"https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-115hr1873rfs/html/BILLS-115hr1873rfs.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr1873-115.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th/house-bill/1873/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2017-04-04","related_bill_ids":["hres392-115"],"progress":"Passed House","house_passage_result":true,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":588,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on Agriculture","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSAG","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Conservation and Forestry","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSAG15","subcommittee":true},{"name":"National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSII10","subcommittee":true},{"name":"Water, Oceans, and Wildlife","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSII13","subcommittee":true},{"name":"Committee on Natural Resources","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSII","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Energy and Natural Resources","chamber":"senate","committee_id":"SSEG","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=hr1873-115","details":"/api/bills/hr1873-115/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/hr1873-115","positionsFor":"/api/bills/hr1873-115/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/hr1873-115/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":20,"slug":"hr1873-115-electricity-reliability-and-forest-protection-act","latest_chamber_votes_id":"hr1873-115","official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":4461,"yea_vote_count":2790,"nay_vote_count":1648,"passed_house":true,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["environment","government","public-land-and-resources","energy"],"issue_ids":["business","public-safety","federal-agencies","environment","government","public-land-and-resources","energy"],"sponsor_id":174}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"business","name":"Business","slug":"business","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Business. 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Should Electric Utilities be Allowed to Remove Hazardous Trees Near Powerlines on Federal Land to Prevent Fires?