Bill Text: CT HB05408 | 2014 | General Assembly | Comm Sub
Bill Title: An Act Concerning Tree Trimming.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 29-10-1)
Status: (Passed) 2014-06-06 - Signed by the Governor [HB05408 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2014-HB05408-Comm_Sub.html
General Assembly |
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February Session, 2014 |
*_____HB05408ET____032014____* |
AN ACT CONCERNING TREE TRIMMING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 16-234 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Utility" means a telephone, telecommunications, electric or electric distribution company, each as defined in section 16-1;
(2) "Utility protection zone" means any rectangular area extending horizontally for a distance of eight feet from any outermost electrical conductor or wire installed from pole to pole and vertically from the ground to the sky;
(3) "Hazardous tree" means any tree or part of a tree that is (A) dead, (B) extensively decayed, or (C) structurally weak, which, if it falls, would endanger utility infrastructure, facilities or equipment;
(4) "Vegetation management" means pruning or removal of trees, shrubs or other vegetation that pose a risk to the reliability of the utility infrastructure, and the retention of trees and shrubs that are compatible with the utility infrastructure. Until such time as the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection issues standards for identifying such compatible trees and shrubs, the standards and identification of such compatible trees and shrubs shall be as set forth in the 2012 final report of the State Vegetation Management Task Force; and
(5) "Pruning" means the selective removal of plant parts to meet specific goals and objectives, when performed according to current professional tree care standards.
(b) A utility may perform vegetation management within the utility protection zone to secure the reliability of utility services by protecting overhead wires, poles, conductors or other utility infrastructure from trees and shrubs, parts of trees and shrubs or other vegetation located within the utility protection zone.
(c) (1) In conducting vegetation management, no utility shall prune or remove any tree or shrub within the utility protection zone, or on or overhanging any highway or public ground, without delivering notice to the abutting property owner. Such notice shall include the option for the abutting property owner to, in writing, consent to such proposed pruning or removal, object to such proposed pruning or removal or modify such proposed pruning or removal. If the tree is on private property, such notice shall include a statement that if such owner objects to the proposed pruning or removal, and such tree falls on any utility infrastructure, the owner shall not be billed by the utility for any resulting damage. Notice shall be considered delivered when it is (A) mailed to the abutting property owner via first class mail, (B) delivered, in writing, at the location of the abutting property, or (C) simultaneously conveyed verbally and provided in writing to the abutting property owner. A utility shall deliver such notice to the abutting property owner if (i) pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision, at least fifteen business days before the starting date of any such pruning or removal, and (ii) pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this subdivision, at any time before any such pruning or removal, provided no utility may start such pruning or removal unless (I) if on state property, the objection period pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection has been met, or (II) if on state property or private property, such property owner affirmatively waives, in writing, the right to object. If requested by an owner of private property, the utility or the Commissioner of Transportation, as appropriate, shall provide such owner with information regarding whether a tree or shrub to be pruned or removed is in the public right-of-way or whether such tree or shrub is on such owner's private property.
(2) The notice shall indicate that (A) objection to pruning or removal shall be filed in writing with the utility and either the tree warden of the municipality or the Commissioner of Transportation, as appropriate, not later than ten business days after delivery of the notice, and (B) the objection may include a request for consultation with the tree warden or the Commissioner of Transportation, as appropriate.
(3) If no objection is filed by the abutting property owner in accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection for pruning or removal of trees or shrubs on such owner's state property, the utility may prune or remove [the] such trees or shrubs for which notice of pruning or removal has been delivered.
(4) If the abutting property owner files an objection pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection or if the utility does not accept the modification to the original notice, as described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the tree warden of the municipality or the Commissioner of Transportation, as appropriate, shall issue a written decision as to the disposition of the tree or shrub not later than ten business days after the filing date of such objection. This decision shall not be issued before a consultation with the abutting property owner if such a consultation has been requested. The abutting property owner or the utility may appeal the tree warden's decision to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority within ten business days after the tree warden's decision. The authority shall hold a hearing within sixty business days of receipt of the abutting property owner's or utility's written appeal of the tree warden's decision and shall provide notice of such hearing to the abutting property owner, the tree warden and the utility. The authority may authorize the pruning or removal of any tree or shrub whose pruning or removal has been at issue in the hearing if it finds that public convenience and necessity require such action. The burden of proving that public convenience and necessity require such action shall be on the utility.
(5) When an objection has been filed pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, no tree or shrub subject to the objection shall be pruned or removed until a final decision has been reached pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection.
(d) Each utility shall operate an electronic mail account to receive inquiries and complaints pursuant to subsections (a) to (g), inclusive, of this section.
(e) In conducting vegetation management, no utility shall remove any tree within the utility protection zone on private property without grinding the stump of such tree and planting a replacement tree on such property, as directed by the owner of the property. The authority shall allow, in a general rate case, a utility to recover the reasonable costs incurred by such utility pursuant to this subsection.
[(d)] (f) No utility shall be required to provide notice pursuant to subsection (c) of this section if the tree warden of the municipality or the Commissioner of Transportation, as appropriate, authorizes, in writing, pruning or removal by the utility of a hazardous tree within the utility protection zone or on or overhanging any public highway or public ground. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a utility to prune or remove a tree.
[(e)] (g) No utility shall be required to obtain a permit pursuant to subsection (f) of section 23-65 or provide notice under subsection (c) of this section to prune or remove a tree, as necessary, if any part of a tree is in direct contact with an energized electrical conductor or has visible signs of burning. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a utility to prune or remove a tree.
[(f)] (h) No utility shall exercise any powers which may have been conferred upon it to change the location of, or to erect or place, wires, conductors, fixtures, structures or apparatus of any kind over, on or under any highway or public ground, without the consent of the adjoining proprietors or, if such company is unable to obtain such consent, without the approval of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which shall be given only after a hearing upon notice to such proprietors. The authority may, if it finds that public convenience and necessity require, authorize the changing of the location of, or the erection or placing of, such wires, conductors, fixtures, structures or apparatus over, on or under such highway or public ground.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
from passage |
16-234 |
ET |
Joint Favorable Subst. |