IB 

Union Calendar No. 110 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1873 

[Report No. 115–165, Part I] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 4, 2017 

Mr. LAMALFA (for himself, Mr. SCHRADER, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. COSTA, Mr. 

WESTERMAN, and Mr. O’HALLERAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 

the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

JUNE 12, 2017 

Additional sponsors: Mr. PEARCE, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. JONES, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. 

PETERSON, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. 

THOMAS J. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. KIND, Ms. MCSALLY, 

Mr. DENHAM, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, and Mr. EMMER

JUNE 12, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JUNE 12, 2017 

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 4, 2017] 


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A BILL 

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. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electricity Reliability 

5 and Forest Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPECTION, 

7 AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE ON FED8 ERAL LANDS CONTAINING ELECTRIC TRANS9 MISSION AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Federal Land Policy 

11 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.) is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 512. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC14 TION, AND OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE 

15 RELATING TO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND 

16 DISTRIBUTION FACILITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

17 ‘‘(a) GENERAL DIRECTION.—In order to enhance the 

18 reliability of the electricity grid and reduce the threat of 

19 wildfires to and from electric transmission and distribution 

20 rights-of-way and related facilities and adjacent property, 

21 the Secretary, with respect to public lands and other lands 

22 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, and the Secretary 

23 of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System 

24 lands, shall provide direction to ensure that all existing and 

25 future rights-of-way, however established (including by 


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1 grant, special use authorization, and easement), for elec2 trical transmission and distribution facilities on such lands 

3 include provisions for utility vegetation management, facil4 ity inspection, and operation and maintenance activities 

5 that, while consistent with applicable law— 

6 ‘‘(1) are developed in consultation with the hold7 er of the right-of-way; 

8 ‘‘(2) enable the owner or operator of a facility to 

9 operate and maintain the facility in good working 

10 order and to comply with Federal, State and local 

11 electric system reliability and fire safety require12 ments, including reliability standards established by 

13 the Electric Reliability Organization as defined under 

14 16 U.S.C. 824o(a) and plans to meet such reliability 

15 standards; 

16 ‘‘(3) minimize the need for case-by-case or an17 nual approvals for— 

18 ‘‘(A) routine vegetation management, facil19 ity inspection, and operation and maintenance 

20 activities within existing electrical transmission 

21 and distribution rights-of-way; and 

22 ‘‘(B) utility vegetation management activi23 ties that are necessary to control hazard trees 

24 within or adjacent to electrical transmission and 

25 distribution rights-of-way; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) when review is required, provide for expe2 dited review and approval of utility vegetation man3 agement, facility inspection, and operation and 

4 maintenance activities, especially activities requiring 

5 prompt action to avoid an adverse impact on human 

6 safety or electric reliability to avoid fire hazards. 

7 ‘‘(b) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC8 TION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLANS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION.—Con10 sistent with subsection (a), the Secretary and the Sec11 retary of Agriculture shall provide owners and opera12 tors of electric transmission and distribution facilities 

13 located on lands described in such subsection with the 

14 option to develop and submit a vegetation manage15 ment, facility inspection, and operation and mainte16 nance plan, that at each transmission or distribution 

17 owner or operator’s discretion may cover some or all 

18 of the owner or operator’s transmission and distribu19 tion rights-of-way on Federal lands, for approval to 

20 the Secretary with jurisdiction over the lands. A plan 

21 under this paragraph shall enable the owner or oper22 ator of a facility, at a minimum, to comply with ap23 plicable Federal, State, and local electric system reli24 ability and fire safety requirements, as provided in 


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1 subsection (a)(2). The Secretaries shall not have the 

2 authority to modify those requirements. 

3 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS.—The 

4 Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall joint5 ly develop a consolidated and coordinated process for 

6 review and approval of— 

7 ‘‘(A) vegetation management, facility in8 spection, and operation and maintenance plans 

9 submitted under paragraph (1) that— 

10 ‘‘(i) assures prompt review and ap11 proval not to exceed 90 days; 

12 ‘‘(ii) includes timelines and bench13 marks for agency comments to submitted 

14 plans and final approval of such plans; 

15 ‘‘(iii) is consistent with applicable law; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(iv) minimizes the costs of the process 

18 to the reviewing agency and the entity sub19 mitting the plans; and 

20 ‘‘(B) amendments to the plans in a prompt 

21 manner if changed conditions necessitate a modi22 fication to a plan. 

23 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION.—The review and approval 

24 process under paragraph (2) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) include notification by the agency of 

2 any changed conditions that warrant a modi3 fication to a plan; 

4 ‘‘(B) provide an opportunity for the owner 

5 or operator to submit a proposed plan amend6 ment to address directly the changed condition; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) allow the owner or operator to con9 tinue to implement those elements of the ap10 proved plan that do not directly and adversely 

11 affect the condition precipitating the need for 

12 modification. 

13 ‘‘(4) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION PROCESS.—The 

14 Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

15 apply his or her categorical exclusion process under 

16 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

17 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to plans developed under this 

18 subsection on existing transmission and distribution 

19 rights-of-way under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION.—A plan approved under 

21 this subsection shall become part of the authorization 

22 governing the covered right-of-way and hazard trees 

23 adjacent to the right-of-way. If a vegetation manage24 ment plan is proposed for an existing transmission or 

25 distribution facility concurrent with the siting of a 


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1 new transmission or distribution facility, necessary 

2 reviews shall be completed as part of the siting proc3 ess or sooner. Once the plan is approved, the owner 

4 or operator shall provide the agency with only a noti5 fication of activities anticipated to be undertaken in 

6 the coming year, a description of those activities, and 

7 certification that the activities are in accordance with 

8 the plan. 

9 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 ‘‘(A) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY

11 INSPECTION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

12 PLAN.—The term ‘vegetation management, facil13 ity inspection, and operation and maintenance 

14 plan’ means a plan that— 

15 ‘‘(i) is prepared by the owner or oper16 ator of one or more electrical transmission 

17 or distribution facilities to cover one or 

18 more electric transmission and distribution 

19 rights-of-way; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) provides for the long-term, cost-ef21 fective, efficient and timely management of 

22 facilities and vegetation within the width of 

23 the right-of-way and adjacent Federal lands 

24 to enhance electricity reliability, promote 

25 public safety, and avoid fire hazards. 


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1 ‘‘(B) OWNER OR OPERATOR.—The terms 

2 ‘owner’ and ‘operator’ include contractors or 

3 other agents engaged by the owner or operator of 

4 a facility. 

5 ‘‘(C) HAZARD TREE.—The term ‘hazard 

6 tree’ means any tree inside the right-of-way or 

7 located outside the right-of-way that has been 

8 designated, prior to tree failure, by either the 

9 owner or operator of a transmission or distribu10 tion facility, or the Secretary or the Secretary of 

11 Agriculture, to be likely to fail and cause a high 

12 risk of injury, damage, or disruption within 10 

13 feet or less of an electric power line or related 

14 structure if it fell. 

15 ‘‘(c) RESPONSE TO EMERGENCY CONDITIONS.—If vege16 tation on Federal lands within, or hazard trees on Federal 

17 lands adjacent to, an electrical transmission or distribution 

18 right-of-way granted by the Secretary or the Secretary of 

19 Agriculture has contacted or is in imminent danger of con20 tacting one or more electric transmission or distribution 

21 lines, the owner or operator of the transmission or distribu22 tion lines— 

23 ‘‘(1) may prune or remove the vegetation or haz24 ard tree to avoid the disruption of electric service and 

25 risk of fire; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) shall notify the appropriate local agent of 

2 the relevant Secretary not later than 24 hours after 

3 such removal. 

4 ‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE RELIABILITY

5 AND SAFETY STANDARDS.—If vegetation on Federal lands 

6 within or adjacent to an electrical transmission or distribu7 tion right-of-way under the jurisdiction of each Secretary 

8 does not meet clearance requirements under standards es9 tablished by the Electric Reliability Organization as de10 fined under 16 U.S.C. 824o(a), or by State and local au11 thorities, and the Secretary having jurisdiction over the 

12 lands has failed to act to allow a transmission or distribu13 tion facility owner or operator to conduct vegetation man14 agement activities within 3 business days after receiving 

15 a request to allow such activities, the owner or operator 

16 may, after notifying the Secretary, conduct such vegetation 

17 management activities to meet those clearance require18 ments. 

19 ‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary or 

20 Secretary of Agriculture shall report requests and actions 

21 made under subsections (c) and (d) annually on each Sec22 retary’s website. 

23 ‘‘(f) LIABILITY.—An owner or operator of a trans24 mission or distribution facility shall not be held liable for 


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1 wildfire damage, loss or injury, including the cost of fire 

2 suppression, if— 

3 ‘‘(1) the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri4 culture fails to allow the owner or operator to operate 

5 consistently with an approved vegetation manage6 ment, facility inspection, and operation and mainte7 nance plan on Federal lands under the relevant Sec8 retary’s jurisdiction within or adjacent to a right-of9 way to comply with Federal, State or local electric 

10 system reliability and fire safety standards, including 

11 standards established by the Electric Reliability Or12 ganization as defined under 16 U.S.C. 824o(a); or 

13 ‘‘(2) the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri14 culture fails to allow the owner or operator of the 

15 transmission or distribution facility to perform ap16 propriate vegetation management activities in re17 sponse to a hazard tree as defined under subsection 

18 (b)(6), or a tree in imminent danger of contacting the 

19 owner’s or operator’s transmission or distribution fa20 cility. 

21 ‘‘(g) TRAINING AND GUIDANCE.—In consultation with 

22 the electric utility industry, the Secretary and the Secretary 

23 of Agriculture are encouraged to develop a program to train 

24 personnel of the Department of the Interior and the Forest 

25 Service involved in vegetation management decisions on 


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1 rights-of-way relating to transmission and distribution fa2 cilities to ensure that such personnel— 

3 ‘‘(1) understand electric system reliability and 

4 fire safety requirements, including reliability stand5 ards established by the Electric Reliability Organiza6 tion as defined under 16 U.S.C. 824o(a); 

7 ‘‘(2) assist owners and operators of transmission 

8 and distribution facilities to comply with applicable 

9 electric reliability and fire safety requirements; and 

10 ‘‘(3) encourage and assist willing owners and op11 erators of transmission and distribution facilities to 

12 incorporate on a voluntary basis vegetation manage13 ment practices to enhance habitats and forage for pol14 linators and for other wildlife so long as the practices 

15 are compatible with the integrated vegetation man16 agement practices necessary for reliability and safety. 

17 ‘‘(h) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of the Interior 

18 and the Secretary of Agriculture shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) not later than one year after the date of the 

20 enactment of this section, prescribe regulations, or 

21 amend existing regulations, to implement this section; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) not later than two years after the date of the 

24 enactment of this section, finalize regulations, or 

25 amend existing regulations, to implement this section. 


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1 ‘‘(i) EXISTING VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY

2 INSPECTION AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLANS.— 

3 Nothing in this section requires an owner or operator to 

4 develop and submit a vegetation management, facility in5 spection, and operation and maintenance plan if one has 

6 already been approved by the Secretary or Secretary of Ag7 riculture before the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

9 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

10 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), is amended by inserting after the item 

11 relating to section 511 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 512. Vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance relating to electric transmission and distribution facility 

rights-of-way.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 110 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1873 

[Report No. 115–165, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Land Policy and Managetating vegetation management on such lands. distribution facilities on Federal lands by facili- wildfires to and from electric transmission and the electricity grid and reduce the threat of ment Act of 1976 to enhance the reliability of 

JUNE 12, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

J

an amendment 

UNE 12, 2017 

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to 

Union and ordered to be printed the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS