In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Q: 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 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 INSPECTION, 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 grant, special use
authorization, and easement), for electrical transmission and
distribution facilities on such lands include provisions for utility
vegetation management, 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 requirements, 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 annual
approvals for--
''(A) routine vegetation management, facility
inspection, and operation and maintenance activities
within existing electrical transmission and
distribution rights-of-way; and
''(B) utility vegetation management activities that
are necessary to control hazard trees within or
adjacent to electrical transmission and distribution
rights-of-way; and
''(4) when review is required, provide for expedited review
and approval of utility vegetation management, 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 Inspection, and Operation and
Maintenance Plans.--
''(1) Development and submission.--Consistent 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
subsection with the option to develop and submit a vegetation
management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance
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 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 facility, at a minimum, to comply with
applicable Federal, 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 process for review and approval of--
''(A) vegetation management, facility inspection,
and operation and maintenance plans submitted under
paragraph (1) that--
''(i) assures prompt review and approval
not to exceed 90 days;
''(ii) includes timelines and benchmarks
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
submitting the plans; and
''(B) amendments to the plans in a prompt manner if
changed conditions necessitate a modification to a
plan.
''(3) Notification.--The review and approval process under
paragraph (2) shall--
''(A) include notification by the agency of any
changed conditions that warrant a modification to a
plan;
''(B) provide an opportunity for the owner or
operator to submit a proposed plan amendment to address
directly the changed condition; and
''(C) allow the owner or operator to continue to
implement those elements of the approved 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 management plan is proposed for an
existing transmission or distribution facility concurrent with
the siting of a new transmission or distribution facility,
necessary reviews shall be completed as part of the siting
process or sooner. Once the plan is approved, the owner or
operator shall provide the agency 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, facility inspection,
and operation and maintenance plan.--The term
'vegetation management, facility inspection, and
operation and maintenance plan' means a plan that--
''(i) is prepared by the owner or operator
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 lands to
enhance electricity reliability, promote 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 distribution 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 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 transmission or
distribution lines--
''(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 Organization 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 vegetation 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 Secretary's website.
''(f) Liability.--An owner or operator of a transmission 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 Agriculture fails
to allow the owner or operator to operate consistently with an
approved vegetation management, facility inspection, and
operation and maintenance plan on Federal lands under the
relevant 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 Reliability Organization
as defined under 16 U.S.C. 824o(a); or
''(2) the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture fails
to allow the owner or operator of the transmission or
distribution facility to perform appropriate vegetation
management activities in response 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
distribution facility.
''(g) Training and Guidance.--In consultation with the electric
utility industry, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture are
encouraged to develop a program 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 standards
established by the Electric Reliability Organization as defined
under 16 U.S.C. 824o(a);
''(2) assist owners and operators of transmission and
distribution facilities to comply with applicable electric
reliability and fire safety requirements;
''(3) encourage and assist willing owners and operators of
transmission and distribution facilities to incorporate on a
voluntary basis vegetation management practices to enhance
habitats and forage for pollinators and for other wildlife so
long as the practices are compatible with the integrated
vegetation management practices necessary for reliability and
safety; and
''(4) understand how existing and emerging unmanned
technologies can help electric utilities, Federal, State, and
local governments, and private landowners to more efficiently
identify vegetation management needs, lower ratepayer energy
costs, and reduce the risk of wildfires.
''(h) Implementation.--The Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Agriculture shall--
''(1) not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this section, prescribe regulations, or amend
existing regulations, to implement this section; and
''(2) not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this section, finalize regulations, or amend
existing regulations, to implement this section.
''(i) Existing Vegetation Management, Facility Inspection and
Operation and Maintenance Plans.--Nothing in this section requires an
owner or operator to develop and submit a vegetation management,
facility inspection, and operation and maintenance plan if one has
already been approved by the Secretary or Secretary of Agriculture
before the date of the enactment of this section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.), is amended
by inserting after the item 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.''.

SEC. 3. NO LOSS OF FUNDS FOR WILD-FIRE SUPPRESSION.

Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall
detract from the availability of funds or other resources for wild-fire
suppression.

Passed the House of Representatives June 21, 2017.

Attest:

KAREN L. HAAS,

Clerk.
A:
Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act (Sec.2)This bill requires the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to lands under their respective jurisdictions, to ensure that all existing and future rights-of-way for electrical transmission and distribution facilities on such lands include requirements for utility vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance activities that: are developed in consultation with the holder of the right-of-way; enable the owner or operator of a facility to operate and maintain it in good working order and comply with federal, state, and local electric system reliability and fire safety requirements; and minimize the need for case-by-case or annual approvals, and instead provide for expedited review and approval, for routine vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance activities within existing electrical transmission and distribution rights-of-way, as well as utility vegetation management activities necessary to control hazard trees within or adjacent to electrical transmission and distribution rights-of-way. Interior and USDA shall give facility owners and operators the option to submit to the appropriate agency a vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance plan. Interior and USDA shall develop jointly a consolidated and coordinated process for review and approval of these plans. Interior and USDA shall apply its categorical exclusion process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to plans developed by this bill. (A "categorical exclusion" under the NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and for which neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.) If vegetation on federal lands within, or hazard trees on federal lands adjacent to, an electrical transmission or distribution right-of-way granted by Interior or USDA has contacted, or is in imminent danger of contacting, one or more electric transmission or distribution lines, the owner or operator: may prune or remove the vegetation or hazard tree to avoid disruption of electric service and risk of fire, and shall notify the local agent of the relevant agency within 24 hours after such removal. The owner or operator of a transmission or distribution facility, after notifying Interior or USDA, as appropriate, may also conduct vegetation management activities on federal lands to meet clearance requirements under standards established by the Electric Reliability Organization or by state and local authorities. An owner or operator of a transmission or distribution facility shall not be held liable for wildfire damage, loss, or injury, including the cost of fire suppression, if Interior or USDA fails to allow it to: operate consistently with an approved vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance plan on federal lands within or adjacent to a right-of-way to comply with federal, state, or local electric system reliability and fire safety standards; or perform vegetation management activities in response to a hazard tree or a tree in imminent danger of contacting the owner's or operator's transmission or distribution facility. Interior and USDA may develop a program to train their personnel involved in vegetation management decisions on rights-of-way relating to transmission and distribution facilities. Interior and USDA shall prescribe regulations, or amend existing regulations, to implement this bill. An owner or operator does not have to develop and submit a vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance plan if one has already been approved by Interior or USDA before the enactment of this bill. (Sec.3)This bill shall not detract from the availability of funds or other resources for wild-fire suppression.