Section 39-35-3 - Vegetation management standards and practices(a) Each electric distribution company as defined by § 39-1-2(a) having greater than one hundred thousand (100,000) customers shall file with the division vegetation management standards and practices for application across its service territory.(b) Vegetation management standards and practices shall, at a minimum, include the following: (1) Specifications, under various design scenarios, for vegetation clearing on and around utility infrastructure along public and private rights of way;(2) A notification process for municipalities, state agencies, and/or private property owners that may be impacted by vegetation management activities. This process shall provide notification to affected parties at least thirty (30) days in advance of any scheduled vegetation management activity and allow for exclusions to preserve public safety and/or respond to storm or other emergency events. Notification shall include how a customer can contact the electric distribution company with questions or complaints concerning vegetation management activities and provide a toll-free telephone number with service in English and Spanish. For municipalities, notification shall be provided to tree wardens and shall include a workplan that provides information on the locations, vendors, and schedules associated with planned vegetation management activities in the community;(3) Establishment of an educational outreach "right tree, right place" program that provides the public with information including, but not limited to, the types of trees and other vegetation that can be safely planted near utility-owned power lines and other electric system infrastructure, and recommended set back dimensions for new plantings near utility infrastructure. The program may also give consideration to municipal tree inventories, tree equity programs and tree canopy programs where they exist. The electric distribution company may partner with state agencies, municipalities, tree wardens and/or community or nonprofit organizations in the development and/or implementation of this program;(4) A website hosted by the electric distribution company that includes a copy of proposed or approved vegetation management standards and practices, and related reference and educational materials including those materials developed pursuant to subsection (b)(3) of this section, and provides a toll-free customer service number with service in English and Spanish for customer questions or complaints;(5) A description of how the electric distribution company will comply with state arborist licensing requirements pursuant to chapter 19 of title 2; and(6) A process by which the electric distribution company will seek approval from property owners for tree removal, including, but not limited to, the removal of dead or diseased trees that pose a risk to the electric system and system reliability.(c) The electric distribution company shall consider industry best practices and standards, such as applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards, in the development of its vegetation management standards and practices.(d) Prior to development of its vegetation management standards and practices, the electric distribution company shall hold at least one joint meeting of city or town tree wardens appointed pursuant to chapter 14 of title 2 to discuss the type of work to be completed by the company, identify collaborative strategies to address emerging threats to vegetation and protect desirable trees, and consider other issues relevant to vegetation management and the protection of electric distribution system infrastructure. The electric distribution company shall also present an overview of its proposed vegetation management standards and practices to city or town tree wardens at least ninety (90) days prior to filing its standards and practices pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, and accept written comments from tree wardens for thirty (30) days following its presentation. The electric distribution company may meet with city or town tree wardens, from time to time, to provide updates on its vegetation management standards and practices.(e) The electric distribution company shall send each city or town council in its service territory a letter informing them that proposed vegetation management standards and practices have been filed with the division. The electric distribution company shall also provide electronic notification of the same to city or town tree wardens and tree commissions in its service territory.(f) Upon receipt, the division shall post the electric distribution company's proposed vegetation management standards and practices on its website and conduct a review of the proposed standards and practices to ensure they comply with industry standards, account for the impacts of a changing climate, and facilitate the operation of a safe and highly reliable electric distribution system for all electric customers. (1) The division shall accept public comment on proposed vegetation management standards and practices for at least thirty (30) days prior to rendering a decision to approve, approve with modifications, or deny the standards and practices, which shall be issued in writing within ninety (90) days of receipt.(2) If modifications are specified in the division's decision, the electric distribution company shall file revised vegetation management standards and practices for review and approval within sixty (60) days of receipt of a written decision.(g)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or ordinance, upon approval by the division, the electric distribution company shall be authorized to implement its vegetation management standards and practices across its service territory.(2) Except for any permits required pursuant to R.I. general laws § 2-1-18 et seq or any rules or regulations promulgated by the department of environmental management, and notwithstanding the notice provisions described in subsection (b)(2) of this section, state and local permits, licenses, assents, variances, or any other form of authorizations or approvals shall not be required for vegetation management activities that are part of vegetation management standards and practices approved by the division pursuant to this chapter.(3) The electric distribution company shall comply with all municipal ordinances including, but not limited to, ordinances concerning public safety, roadway access, and scheduling, when implementing its vegetation management standards and practices, except that a municipal ordinance shall not deny the company's right to trim or otherwise compel the company to apply a vegetation management standard that deviates from that approved by the division pursuant to this chapter. The electric distribution company shall give consideration to municipal ordinances concerning local vegetation, where they exist.(h) Pursuant to the requirements of § 39-1-27.7.1, the electric distribution company shall be permitted to seek recovery of all reasonable costs incurred under this section, inclusive of those reasonable costs incurred by the division. The division is authorized to assess the electric distribution company's reasonable costs to employ on a contract basis any utility and/or vegetation management experts, including, but not limited to, certified arborists, foresters and horticulturalists. The electric distribution company shall be entitled to recovery of those assessed costs through its annual infrastructure, safety, and reliability spending plan, or such other rate recovery mechanism the public utility commission deems appropriate. Nothing in this section shall be construed to derogate from the statutory authority of the public utility commission to establish budget limits and to set just and reasonable rates or the division from advocating a position in public utility commission proceedings, including annual filings made under § 39-1-27.7.1 for implementation of vegetation management and the associated budget that is different from that which is filed by the electric distribution company. The public utility commission may consider the reasonableness of the pace of expenditures from year to year and the chapter impacts resulting from the proposals for cost recovery.
(i) The electric distribution company shall file updated vegetation management standards and practices with the division at least once every four (4) years.(j) Electric distribution customers may contact the electric distribution company if they wish to discuss utility vegetation management activities. If additional information or contact is needed, the electric distribution company shall phone or email the customer within ten (10) business days of receipt of a complaint and work in good faith to reasonably address customer concerns in a manner consistent with its approved vegetation management standards and practices. A customer that is not satisfied with the electric distribution company's response may contact their city or town tree warden, who shall review the matter and work with the electric distribution company to resolve the matter consistent with vegetation management standards approved pursuant to this chapter. To the extent a customer is still not satisfied after discussions with both the electric distribution company and local tree warden, they may register a complaint with the division to resolve any disputed matters in a timely manner.(k) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the division from promulgating rules and regulations and/or extending the applicability of existing rules and regulations to complaints made under this section.Added by 2024 Pub. Laws, ch. 406,§ 5, eff. 6/26/2024.