SACRAMENTO, Calif.—With scores of wildfires burning throughout the West, NRECA is working to make it easier for electric cooperatives to reduce wildfire risks, association leaders said Wednesday at NRECA’s Regions 7&9 Meeting.
Co-ops got some good news on Sept. 24 when the House voted 268-151 to pass the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act, said Louis Finkel, NRECA’s senior vice president of Government Relations.
The bill, introduced by House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., would eliminate some of the bureaucratic hurdles that have blocked co-ops from being able to perform crucial vegetation management to reduce the risk of trees and brush catching fire, Finkel said.
He said the bill includes tort reform to reduce frivolous lawsuits and streamlines the federal permitting process to allow co-ops to remove “hazard trees” within 150 feet of their lines—a big improvement from the 10 feet that is the rule today. Co-ops often struggle to get federal approval to remove trees on public land that are in danger of falling onto their lines and sparking fires.
Legislation to address the issue is moving through the Senate, Finkel said.
“We’ll be building on what happened in the House to move things forward,” he said.
NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said the bill would help co-ops protect their consumer-members.
“As small, not-for-profit entities, bureaucratic hurdles and red tape fall particularly hard on electric co-ops as they work to maintain their infrastructure on public lands,” Matheson said in a news release.
“The Fix Our Forests Act includes crucial improvements to grid hardening and wildfire mitigation procedures that will help co-ops better address wildfire hazards on utility rights-of-way and better protect the communities they serve.”
Fires were burning throughout the West as the regional meeting was taking place, Finkel said.
“As we sit here today, there are 43 wildfires burning across the West,” he said. “And that’s down from a peak of 93. What we’re hearing from you is a lot of concern, a lot of angst, a lot of fear.”
In order for NRECA to be credible when advocating before Congress and federal agencies, co-ops must show that they’re doing everything they can to reduce wildfire risks, Finkel said.
“Have a wildfire mitigation plan and document your work,” he said.
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Erin Kelly is a staff writer for NRECA.