IB 
Union Calendar No. 219 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2358 
[Report No. 114–287, 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 
MAY 15, 2015 
Mr. ZINKE (for himself and Mr. SCHRADER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
OCTOBER 6, 2015 
Additional sponsors: Mr. GOSAR, Mr. KLINE, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mrs. LUMMIS, 
Mr. PEARCE, Mr. KIND, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. COLE, Mr. 
WESTERMAN, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. JONES, Mr. POMPEO, and Mr. 
GUTHRIE 
OCTOBER 6, 2015 
Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
OCTOBER 6, 2015 
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 May 15, 2015] 
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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 North American Electric Reliability Corporation 
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 owner or operator’s trans-
mission discretion may cover some or all of the owner 
or operator’s transmission and distribution 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 operator of a fa-
cility, at a minimum, to comply with applicable Fed-
eral, State, and local electric system reliability and 
fire safety requirements, as provided in subsection 
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