WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) joined Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24) to re-introduce the Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act. This bipartisan legislation would allow the U.S. Forest Service to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal forest lands without requiring a timber sale, easing a serious threat that has in the past been a major cause of destructive wildfires.

“Far too often bureaucratic red tape gets in the way of proper forest management, contributing to the destructive wildfires we see throughout our state,” said Congressman Valadao. “When dead trees aren’t cleared, wildfires burn more intensely, causing widespread devastation and directly impacting air quality across the Central Valley. This bill is a common sense, bipartisan step towards reducing wildfire risk, and I’m proud to join Congressman Carbajal in support.”

"As California continues to recover from catastrophic wildfires that ravaged the region earlier this year, we are reminded of the importance of responsible forest management to reduce future wildfire risk," said Rep. Carbajal. "Our bipartisan bill will expedite the removal of hazardous trees near power lines and is a common sense solution to protect our communities.”

Background:

Currently, the Forest Service requires utility companies to keep trees and branches away from power lines on federal land. But fallen or dead trees cannot be cleared currently without a timber sale, creating an administrative step that can slow the clearing of hazardous fuel and potential triggers for wildfire on federal land.

This bill passed out of the House Committee on Natural Resources and was included in the House version of the Farm Bill in the 118th Congress. It was added to the Fix Our Forests Act in the 119th Congress.

The Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act would:

• Allow the U.S. Forest Service to provide standing permission for electrical utilities to cut and remove hazardous trees near power lines on federal land without requiring a timber sale.
• Require any utility that sells marketable forest products from hazardous trees removed near power lines to return any proceeds to the Forest Service.

Read the full bill here.

###