Randy Howard, general manager of Northern California Power Agency, and Mason Baker, CEO and general manager of Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, on Feb. 24 testified before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries on federal wildfire policy.
The hearing focused on vegetation management along power line corridors on federal lands.
Howard and Baker highlighted the need for the Senate to pass the Fix Our Forests Act, expanding the use of categorical exclusions for vegetation management, reducing bureaucratic barriers that delay or prevent projects from moving forward, and establishing a voluntary federal insurance backstop as utilities face rising premiums and a lack of insurance providers.
During the hearing, Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT) introduced Baker as her constituent, praising UAMPS and public power for their focus on reducing wildfire risk.
Maloy also chairs the Congressional Western Caucus, a group that is active on wildfire policy and other critical issues facing Western states.
The subcommittee also heard from two electric cooperatives, Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative from Arizona and Midstate Electric Cooperative from Oregon, on behalf of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), NV Energy, an investor-owned utility in Nevada, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, and a professor from the Pennsylvania State University who is a member of the Rights of Way Stewardship Council.
The witnesses agreed that more flexibility for utility operators to address vegetation along power line corridors is necessary to mitigate the threat from wildfire.
Howard and Baker answered questions from subcommittee members on the permitting delays that public power utilities face when seeking approval to address hazard trees along corridors, the importance of categorical exclusions in speeding up the implementation of comprehensive vegetation management, and concerns regarding utility liability for wildfires that start on federal lands.
Safety, affordability, and reliability remain priorities for public power utilities as they address wildfire threats.
Subcommittee Chair Harriet Hageman (R-WY) praised the witnesses for their insight into how to improve federal wildfire policy. Full Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-AR) urged the Senate to adopt the categorical exclusion for power line corridors in the Fix Our Forests Act that was included in H.R. 471, the House-passed version of the bill.
Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-CA) said he hopes the committee will pivot to holding federal agency oversight hearings to question officials about the permitting delays the witnesses detailed.
Two other public power utilities were mentioned during the hearing.
A witness invited by committee Democrats, Dr. Carolyn Mahan, a professor at Pennsylvania State University and a member of the Rights of Way Stewardship Council, praised the Sacramento Municipal Utility District for its efforts to implement integrated vegetation management on its power line corridors.
Integrated vegetation management includes creating grassland-type ecosystems in utility rights-of-way that promote habitats and help prevent the spread of wildfire.
Representative Jeff Crank (R-CO) praised the work that Colorado Springs Utilities does to manage a large urban-wildlife interface and mitigate wildfires across its utility infrastructure.
He noted that last month, CSU CEO Travas Deal also testified before the subcommittee on this issue, and said he appreciates CSU’s continued engagement on mitigating wildfire risk.
