Bill Text: IN SB0332 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Vegetation management.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-11 - First reading: referred to Committee on Utilities & Technology [SB0332 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2010-SB0332-Introduced.html
Citations Affected: IC 8-1; IC 8-20-1-28.
Synopsis: Vegetation management. Requires electric utilities to follow
certain guidelines when performing vegetation management. Requires
the utility regulatory commission to include in its annual report to the
regulatory flexibility committee the number and status of consumer
complaints concerning vegetation management.
Effective: Upon passage; July 1, 2010.
January 11, 2010, read first time and referred to Committee on Utilities & Technology.
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A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
utilities.
(1) extension of service;
(2) extension of credit;
(3) deposits, including interest thereon;
(4) billing procedures;
(5) termination of service;
(6) complaints; and
(7) information and notice to customers of their rights under the rules.
(b) Notwithstanding IC 8-1-2-54, the commission may investigate and enter orders on complaints filed by individual customers arising under this section or IC 8-1-38. The commission may establish an
appeals division to act on its own behalf regarding individual customer
complaints. The decision of the division shall be binding on all parties
to the complaint. The commission shall review decisions of the appeals
division upon timely request by an affected party.
(c) This section does not invalidate any rule or regulation adopted
by the commission before July 1, 1979, to govern the relations between
public utilities and their consumers if the rule or regulation is
consistent with this section.
Chapter 38. Electric Utility Vegetation Management Practices
Sec. 1. (a) As used in this chapter, "affected property owner" means the record owner of real property on which a utility plans to perform vegetation management.
(b) The term does not include a property owner that is a governmental unit.
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "utility" refers to any of the following:
(1) A public utility (as defined in IC 8-1-2-1(a)).
(2) A municipally owned utility (as defined in IC 8-1-2-1(h)).
(3) A corporation organized under IC 8-1-13.
(4) A corporation organized under IC 23-17 that:
(A) is an electric cooperative; and
(B) has at least one (1) member that is a corporation organized under IC 8-1-13.
Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "vegetation management" means:
(1) the trimming or pruning of one (1) or more trees; or
(2) the cutting down and removal of one (1) or more trees.
Sec. 4. (a) In performing any vegetation management, a utility shall do the following:
(1) Follow the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 standards for tree care operations.
(2) Enter and remain on property to which the utility possesses an easement or to which there is a public right-of-way.
(b) The commission may not approve a tariff that grants a utility the right to enter an affected property owner's property other than as permitted in subsection (a).
Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in section 7 of this chapter, and subject to subsection (d), a utility shall provide direct written
notice to the following not more than ninety (90) days before and
not less than twenty-one (21) days before performing vegetation
management:
(1) If the vegetation management will be performed in a
municipality, the executive officer of the municipality.
(2) If the vegetation management will be performed in an
unincorporated area, the executive officer of the county in
which the unincorporated area is located.
(3) Each affected property owner.
(b) Direct written notice provided under subsection (a) must
include the following:
(1) For notice provided under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), a
topographical map or legal description of the area in which
the planned vegetation management will be performed.
(2) For notice provided under subsection (a)(3), a statement
that copies of the topographical maps or legal descriptions
required under subdivision (1) are on file with the executive
officer of the county or municipality, as applicable.
(3) A description of the planned vegetation management.
(4) A web site address and a toll free telephone number at
which an affected property owner may obtain a written
disclosure of all rights, dispute resolution procedures, and
other remedies provided by the utility and related to the
planned vegetation management.
(5) A statement that an affected property owner may file a
complaint about the planned vegetation management
activities with the commission.
(6) A toll free telephone number at which an affected property
owner may speak directly with a utility representative about
the planned vegetation management activities.
(7) Telephone numbers for the commission and the office of
utility consumer counselor.
(c) The utility shall publish notice of planned vegetation
management as follows:
(1) For vegetation management that will be performed in a
municipality, in a newspaper of general circulation published
in the municipality.
(2) For vegetation management that will be performed in an
unincorporated area, in a newspaper of general circulation
published in the county in which the unincorporated area is
located.
(d) A utility is not required to provide notice under this section
if:
(1) the utility has entered into a written agreement with a
county or municipality, as applicable, concerning standards
for vegetation management performed within the county or
municipality, as applicable; and
(2) the written agreement establishes direct written and
published notice requirements to affected property owners
and the appropriate executive officer.
Sec. 6. (a) A utility shall employ or contract with:
(1) licensed contractors or other qualified personnel who are
trained to perform vegetation management consistent with
the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300
standards for tree care operations; or
(2) arborists certified by the International Society of
Arboriculture;
to perform vegetation management.
Sec. 7. (a) For purposes of subsection (b), an emergency includes
the following:
(1) Fallen trees.
(2) Trees causing power outages.
(3) Trees on fire due to contact with overhead lines.
(4) Other hazards with potential to cause damage to or harm
the public or property.
(b) A utility is exempt from the requirements of section 5 of this
chapter if:
(1) in response to an emergency, the commission acts under
IC 8-1-2-113 to temporarily alter, suspend, or amend any
rules adopted by the commission under this chapter; or
(2) the utility determines that an emergency exists that
requires the utility to undertake immediate action that
includes vegetation management in order to:
(A) prevent endangerment to life or property; or
(B) ensure the safety, reliability, or power quality of the
utility's electric distribution system;
subject to verification by the commission.
Sec. 8. (a) An affected property owner or a utility may file a
complaint with the commission to investigate and resolve a dispute
arising under this chapter, including a dispute related to the
utility's entry onto property to which the utility does not possess an
easement to perform vegetation management. The commission
shall conduct a hearing under IC 8-1-2-34.5(b).
(b) Upon the request of an affected property owner, the utility
consumer counselor shall appear on behalf of the affected property
owner in a proceeding before the commission under this section or
IC 8-1-2-34.5(b).
(c) An affected party may seek review by the commission of a
decision issued by the appeals division under IC 8-1-2-34.5(b) for
a complaint filed under this section. A decision by the commission
under this subsection is final.
(d) The commission may award damages to an affected party if
the commission determines that the other party acted in bad faith
or otherwise failed to comply with this chapter.
Sec. 9. The commission shall include in its annual report to the
regulatory flexibility committee under IC 8-1-2.6-4 the number and
status of complaints filed under section 8 of this chapter.
Sec. 10. The commission may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to
implement this chapter.
(b) The commission may adopt any rules necessary to implement IC 8-1-38, as added by this act, in the same manner as emergency rules are adopted under IC 4-22-2-37.1. Any rules adopted under this SECTION must be adopted not later than September 1, 2010. A rule adopted under this SECTION expires on the earlier of:
(1) the date a final rule is adopted by the commission under IC 4-22-2; or
(2) January 1, 2012.
(c) This SECTION expires January 1, 2012.
