IIB 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1873 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 22, 2017 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
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 
FEDERAL 
LANDS 
CONTAINING 
ELECTRIC 
TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION FACILI-
TIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Federal Land Pol-
icy 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 distribu-
tion rights-of-way and related facilities and adjacent prop-
erty, the Secretary, with respect to public lands and other 
lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest Sys-
tem lands, shall provide direction to ensure that all exist-
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ing and future rights-of-way, however established (includ-
ing by grant, special use authorization, and easement), for 
electrical transmission and distribution facilities on such 
lands include provisions for utility vegetation manage-
ment, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance 
activities that, while consistent with applicable law— 
‘‘(1) are developed in consultation with the 
holder 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 re-
liability 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 
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within or adjacent to electrical transmission and 
distribution rights-of-way; and 
‘‘(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 
Secretary of Agriculture shall provide owners and 
operators of electric transmission and distribution 
facilities located on lands described in such sub-
section with the option to develop and submit a 
vegetation management, facility inspection, and op-
eration and maintenance plan, that at each trans-
mission or distribution owner or operator’s discre-
tion may cover some or all of the owner or opera-
tor’s transmission and distribution rights-of-way on 
Federal lands, for approval to the Secretary with ju-
risdiction over the lands. A plan under this para-
graph shall enable the owner or operator of a facil-
ity, at a minimum, to comply with applicable Fed-
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eral, State, and local electric system reliability and 
fire safety requirements, as provided in 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 
jointly develop a consolidated and coordinated proc-
ess 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 proc-
ess to the reviewing agency and the entity 
submitting the plans; and 
‘‘(B) amendments to the plans in a prompt 
manner if changed conditions necessitate a 
modification to a plan. 
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‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION.—The review and approval 
process under paragraph (2) shall— 
‘‘(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 au-
thorization governing the covered right-of-way and 
hazard trees adjacent to the right-of-way. If a vege-
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tation management plan is proposed for an existing 
transmission or distribution facility concurrent with 
the siting of a new transmission or distribution facil-
ity, necessary reviews shall be completed as part of 
the siting process or sooner. Once the plan is ap-
proved, the owner or operator shall provide the agen-
cy with only a notification 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, FACIL-
ITY INSPECTION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTE-
NANCE PLAN.—The term ‘vegetation manage-
ment, facility 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- 
effective, efficient and timely management 
of facilities and vegetation within the width 
of the right-of-way and adjacent Federal 
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lands to enhance electricity reliability, pro-
mote public safety, and avoid fire hazards. 
‘‘(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 with-
in 10 feet or less of an electric power line or 
related structure if it fell. 
‘‘(c) RESPONSE
TO EMERGENCY CONDITIONS.—If 
vegetation 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 contacting one or more electric transmission or 
distribution lines, the owner or operator of the trans-
mission or distribution lines— 
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‘‘(1) may prune or remove the vegetation or 
hazard tree to avoid the disruption of electric service 
and risk of fire; and 
‘‘(2) shall notify the appropriate local agent of 
the relevant Secretary not later than 24 hours after 
such removal. 
‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE RELIABILITY 
AND SAFETY STANDARDS.—If vegetation on Federal 
lands within or adjacent to an electrical transmission or 
distribution right-of-way under the jurisdiction of each 
Secretary does not meet clearance requirements under 
standards established by the Electric Reliability Organiza-
tion as defined under 16 U.S.C. 824o(a), or by State and 
local authorities, and the Secretary having jurisdiction 
over the lands has failed to act to allow a transmission 
or distribution facility owner or operator to conduct vege-
tation management activities within 3 business days after 
receiving a request to allow such activities, the owner or 
operator may, after notifying the Secretary, conduct such 
vegetation management activities to meet those clearance 
requirements. 
‘‘(e) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary or 
Secretary of Agriculture shall report requests and actions 
made under subsections (c) and (d) annually on each Sec-
retary’s website. 
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‘‘(f) LIABILITY.—An owner or operator of a trans-
mission or distribution facility shall not be held liable for 
wildfire damage, loss or injury, including the cost of fire 
suppression, if— 
‘‘(1) the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri-
culture fails to allow the owner or operator to oper-
ate consistently with an approved vegetation man-
agement, facility inspection, and operation and 
maintenance plan on Federal lands under the rel-
evant Secretary’s jurisdiction within or adjacent to 
a right-of-way to comply with Federal, State or local 
electric system reliability and fire safety standards, 
including standards established by the Electric Reli-
ability Organization as defined under 16 U.S.C. 
824o(a); or 
‘‘(2) the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri-
culture fails to allow the owner or operator of the 
transmission or distribution facility to perform ap-
propriate vegetation management activities in re-
sponse to a hazard tree as defined under subsection 
(b)(6), or a tree in imminent danger of contacting 
the owner’s or operator’s transmission or distribu-
tion facility. 
‘‘(g) TRAINING
AND GUIDANCE.—In consultation 
with the electric utility industry, the Secretary and the 
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Secretary of Agriculture are encouraged to develop a pro-
gram to train personnel of the Department of the Interior 
and the Forest Service involved in vegetation management 
decisions on rights-of-way relating to transmission and 
distribution facilities to ensure that such personnel— 
‘‘(1) understand electric system reliability and 
fire safety requirements, including reliability stand-
ards established by the Electric Reliability Organiza-
tion as defined under 16 U.S.C. 824o(a); 
‘‘(2) assist owners and operators of trans-
mission and distribution facilities to comply with ap-
plicable electric reliability and fire safety require-
ments; 
‘‘(3) encourage and assist willing owners and 
operators of transmission and distribution facilities 
to incorporate on a voluntary basis vegetation man-
agement practices to enhance habitats and forage 
for pollinators and for other wildlife so long as the 
practices are compatible with the integrated vegeta-
tion management practices necessary for reliability 
and safety; and 
‘‘(4) understand how existing and emerging un-
manned technologies can help electric utilities, Fed-
eral, State, and local governments, and private land-
owners to more efficiently identify vegetation man-
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