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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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electricity Reliability 
and Forest Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPECTION, 
AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE ON FED-
ERAL LANDS CONTAINING ELECTRIC TRANS-
MISSION AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 512. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC-
TION, AND OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE 
RELATING TO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND 
DISTRIBUTION FACILITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 
‘‘(a) GENERAL DIRECTION.—In order to enhance the 
reliability of the electricity grid and reduce the threat of 
wildfires to and from electric transmission and distribution 
rights-of-way and related facilities and adjacent property, 
the Secretary, with respect to public lands and other lands 
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, and the Secretary 
of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System 
lands, shall provide direction to ensure that all existing and 
future rights-of-way, however established (including by 
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grant, special use authorization, and easement), for elec-
trical transmission and distribution facilities on such lands 
include provisions for utility vegetation management, facil-
ity inspection, and operation and maintenance activities 
that, while consistent with applicable law— 
‘‘(1) are developed in consultation with the hold-
er of the right-of-way; 
‘‘(2) enable the owner or operator of a facility to 
operate and maintain the facility in good working 
order and to comply with Federal, State and local 
electric system reliability and fire safety require-
ments, including reliability standards established by 
the Electric Reliability Organization as defined under 
16 U.S.C. 824o(a) and plans to meet such reliability 
standards; 
‘‘(3) minimize the need for case-by-case or an-
nual approvals for— 
‘‘(A) routine vegetation management, facil-
ity inspection, and operation and maintenance 
activities within existing electrical transmission 
and distribution rights-of-way; and 
‘‘(B) utility vegetation management activi-
ties that are necessary to control hazard trees 
within or adjacent to electrical transmission and 
distribution rights-of-way; and 
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‘‘(4) when review is required, provide for expe-
dited review and approval of utility vegetation man-
agement, facility inspection, and operation and 
maintenance activities, especially activities requiring 
prompt action to avoid an adverse impact on human 
safety or electric reliability to avoid fire hazards. 
‘‘(b) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC-
TION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLANS.— 
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT
AND
SUBMISSION.—Con-
sistent with subsection (a), the Secretary and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall provide owners and opera-
tors of electric transmission and distribution facilities 
located on lands described in such subsection with the 
option to develop and submit a vegetation manage-
ment, facility inspection, and operation and mainte-
nance plan, that at each transmission or distribution 
owner or operator’s discretion may cover some or all 
of the owner or operator’s transmission and distribu-
tion rights-of-way on Federal lands, for approval to 
the Secretary with jurisdiction over the lands. A plan 
under this paragraph shall enable the owner or oper-
ator of a facility, at a minimum, to comply with ap-
plicable Federal, State, and local electric system reli-
ability and fire safety requirements, as provided in 
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subsection (a)(2). The Secretaries shall not have the 
authority to modify those requirements. 
‘‘(2) REVIEW
AND
APPROVAL
PROCESS.—The 
Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall joint-
ly develop a consolidated and coordinated process for 
review and approval of— 
‘‘(A) vegetation management, facility in-
spection, and operation and maintenance plans 
submitted under paragraph (1) that— 
‘‘(i) assures prompt review and ap-
proval not to exceed 90 days; 
‘‘(ii) includes timelines and bench-
marks for agency comments to submitted 
plans and final approval of such plans; 
‘‘(iii) is consistent with applicable law; 
and 
‘‘(iv) minimizes the costs of the process 
to the reviewing agency and the entity sub-
mitting the plans; and 
‘‘(B) amendments to the plans in a prompt 
manner if changed conditions necessitate a modi-
fication to a plan. 
‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION.—The review and approval 
process under paragraph (2) shall— 
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‘‘(A) include notification by the agency of 
any changed conditions that warrant a modi-
fication to a plan; 
‘‘(B) provide an opportunity for the owner 
or operator to submit a proposed plan amend-
ment to address directly the changed condition; 
and 
‘‘(C) allow the owner or operator to con-
tinue to implement those elements of the ap-
proved plan that do not directly and adversely 
affect the condition precipitating the need for 
modification. 
‘‘(4) CATEGORICAL
EXCLUSION
PROCESS.—The 
Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
apply his or her categorical exclusion process under 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to plans developed under this 
subsection on existing transmission and distribution 
rights-of-way under this subsection. 
‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION.—A plan approved under 
this subsection shall become part of the authorization 
governing the covered right-of-way and hazard trees 
adjacent to the right-of-way. If a vegetation manage-
ment plan is proposed for an existing transmission or 
distribution facility concurrent with the siting of a 
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new transmission or distribution facility, necessary 
reviews shall be completed as part of the siting proc-
ess or sooner. Once the plan is approved, the owner 
or operator shall provide the agency with only a noti-
fication of activities anticipated to be undertaken in 
the coming year, a description of those activities, and 
certification that the activities are in accordance with 
the plan. 
‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY 
INSPECTION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 
PLAN.—The term ‘vegetation management, facil-
ity inspection, and operation and maintenance 
plan’ means a plan that— 
‘‘(i) is prepared by the owner or oper-
ator of one or more electrical transmission 
or distribution facilities to cover one or 
more electric transmission and distribution 
rights-of-way; and 
‘‘(ii) provides for the long-term, cost-ef-
fective, efficient and timely management of 
facilities and vegetation within the width of 
the right-of-way and adjacent Federal lands 
to enhance electricity reliability, promote 
public safety, and avoid fire hazards. 
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‘‘(B) OWNER
OR
OPERATOR.—The terms 
‘owner’ and ‘operator’ include contractors or 
other agents engaged by the owner or operator of 
a facility. 
‘‘(C) HAZARD
TREE.—The term ‘hazard 
tree’ means any tree inside the right-of-way or 
located outside the right-of-way that has been 
designated, prior to tree failure, by either the 
owner or operator of a transmission or distribu-
tion facility, or the Secretary or the Secretary of 
Agriculture, to be likely to fail and cause a high 
risk of injury, damage, or disruption within 10 
feet or less of an electric power line or related 
structure if it fell. 
‘‘(c) RESPONSE TO EMERGENCY CONDITIONS.—If vege-
tation on Federal lands within, or hazard trees on Federal 
lands adjacent to, an electrical transmission or distribution 
right-of-way granted by the Secretary or the Secretary of 
Agriculture has contacted or is in imminent danger of con-
tacting one or more electric transmission or distribution 
lines, the owner or operator of the transmission or distribu-
tion lines— 
‘‘(1) may prune or remove the vegetation or haz-
ard tree to avoid the disruption of electric service and 
risk of fire; and 
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