The U.S. Forest Service proposed a new rule on Tuesday to speed vegetation clearing near power lines in federally-owned forests.
It was the next step in the implementation of a bill authored by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) to speed the removal of hazardous and overgrown trees and other vegetation near electricity infrastructure on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands. The bill was signed into law in 2017. The public conversation around malfunctioning electrical equipment sparking wildfires in nearby forests has only grown since then.
The rule sets up expedited approval for maintenance projects in the right-of-way of electricity infrastructure. The Forest Service is accepting public comments on the rule before finalizing it.
“It is instrumental in helping to avoid wildfires in rural areas resulting from power line contact and the resulting blackouts to urban and rural electricity city users,” said LaMalfa in a statement.
According to a Congressional report accompanying the bill, the Forest Service reported 113 and 232 wildfires in 2013 and 2012, respectively, caused by contact between power lines and trees.
The Forest Service has about 18,000 miles of electricity infrastructure right-of-way, and the BLM has more than 71,613 miles of electricity transmission and distribution, the committee reported.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has said it is stepping its vegetation management near power lines in areas with high fire risk since the Camp Fire. A court-appointed monitor found some shortfalls in its tree-trimming and record keeping in a report in August.
