00 HOUSE BILL NO. 252 01 "An Act relating to liability of an electric utility for contact between vegetation and the 02 utility's facilities; and relating to electric utility wildland fire mitigation plans." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04  * Section 1. AS 09.65 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Sec. 09.65.086. Civil liability of electric utility for contact between  06 vegetation and utility facilities. (a) Except as provided in (b), (e), and (g) of this 07 section, a utility offering electrical service to the public for compensation under a 08 certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the former Alaska Public 09 Utilities Commission or the Regulatory Commission of Alaska under AS 42.05.221 10 may not be held liable for costs, property damage, death, or personal injury resulting 11 from contact between vegetation and the utility's electrical service facilities. 12 (b) This section does not preclude civil liability for property damage, death, or 13 personal injury resulting from contact between vegetation and the utility's facilities if 14 (1) the vegetation is located or originated inside the boundaries of the 01 utility's real property, lease, permit, easement, or right-of-way or of an area established 02 by a wildland fire mitigation plan; or 03 (2) the contact is caused by the utility while the utility is working 04 outside the boundaries of the utility's real property, lease, permit, easement, or right- 05 of-way or of an area established by a wildland fire mitigation plan. 06 (c) A utility is not liable for an injury to or removal of vegetation when the 07 removal or injury is carried out in accordance with the terms of a wildland fire 08 mitigation plan or inside the boundaries of the utility's real property, lease, permit, 09 easement, or right-of-way, including vegetation rooted outside those boundaries. 10 (d) An owner of property located outside the boundaries of a utility's real 11 property, lease, permit, easement, or right-of-way or, if applicable, the boundaries of 12 an area established by a wildland fire mitigation plan may not be held liable for costs, 13 property damage, death, or personal injury resulting from the utility working outside 14 those boundaries. 15 (e) This section does not preclude civil liability if a utility causes vegetation to 16 contact the utility's electrical service facilities. 17 (f) A utility and the owner of a property located on a boundary of the utility's 18 real property, lease, permit, easement, or right-of-way may agree to be bound by the 19 terms of a wildland fire mitigation plan. The wildland fire mitigation plan must be in 20 writing, describe the boundaries of the area covered by the plan in which the utility 21 may manage vegetation, assess the risk of wildland fire, and set out the procedure by 22 which the utility will manage vegetation and the risk of wildland fire to protect the 23 reliability and safety of the utility's electrical service facilities. 24 (g) A utility that causes or fails to prevent a wildland fire after adopting a 25 wildland fire mitigation plan approved by the Department of Natural Resources and 26 substantially complying with the other requirements of AS 42.05.352 and regulations 27 adopted under AS 42.05.352 is presumed not to have acted with negligence. The 28 utility is not liable for punitive or noneconomic damages resulting from injury to a 29 person or property resulting from the wildland fire unless it is shown that the utility 30 acted with gross negligence or engaged in reckless or intentional misconduct. 31 (h) In this section, 01 (1) "utility" includes a person who injures or removes vegetation under 02 (c) of this section while under contract with or acting under the authority of a utility; 03 (2) "wildland fire" has the meaning given in AS 42.05.352. 04 (3) "wildland fire mitigation plan" means a wildland fire mitigation 05 plan adopted under AS 42.05.352. 06  * Sec. 2. AS 42.05 is amended by adding a new section to article 3 to read: 07 Sec. 42.05.352. Electric utility wildland fire mitigation plan. (a) An electric 08 utility shall adopt a wildland fire mitigation plan and update the plan annually and 09 each time a risk assessment is completed. The plan must be in writing. The plan must 10 describe the boundaries of the utility's real property, each adjacent property, and how 11 the utility will manage vegetation to preserve the reliability and safety of the utility's 12 electric facilities, avoid causing a wildland fire, and prevent harm to adjacent 13 properties and occupants of adjacent properties. The plan and each update to the plan 14 must be approved by the Department of Natural Resources. 15 (b) The plan must assess the risk of a wildland fire igniting or spreading to or 16 within the boundaries of the utility's real property, lease, permit, easement, and right- 17 of-way and the risk of a wildland fire spreading from within those boundaries to an 18 adjacent property. 19 (c) The wildland fire mitigation plan must include procedures and time frames 20 for 21 (1) inspecting and maintaining real property assessed as having a high 22 risk of igniting or spreading a wildland fire; 23 (2) identifying with reasonable specificity the geographic locations 24 assessed as having a high risk of wildland fire; 25 (3) inspecting, maintaining, and upgrading facilities in areas assessed 26 as having a high risk of wildland fire; 27 (4) interrupting power transmission during a wildland fire or a period 28 of high risk of wildland fire; 29 (5) inspecting vegetation within the boundaries of the plan and the 30 utility's real property, lease, permit, easement, and right-of-way; 31 (6) identifying and removing trees and other vegetation within the 01 boundaries of the plan and the utility's real property, lease, permit, easement, and 02 right-of-way that pose a heightened risk of falling into and damaging electric facilities; 03 (7) clearing and trimming vegetation within the boundaries of the plan 04 and the utility's real property, lease, permit, easement, and right-of-way; 05 (8) locating powerline faults and other powerline irregularities that 06 may indicate a problem with vegetation or the presence of wildland fire near power 07 equipment operated by a utility; 08 (9) notifying a local or state fire response agency of the threat of or 09 presence of wildland fire, when appropriate; and 10 (10) coordinating vegetation and right-of-way maintenance with local 11 and state fire response agencies to facilitate adequate ingress and egress at locations 12 that are at high risk of wildland fire. 13 (d) Before interrupting electric power transmission according to a wildland 14 fire mitigation plan, a utility shall 15 (1) consider the need to maintain sufficient electric power service for 16 public safety, telecommunications, and the operation of life-support equipment; and 17 (2) determine whether detrimental effects on health, safety, and 18 commerce as a result of interrupting power transmission are likely to outweigh 19 beneficial effects. 20 (e) If the outcome of a risk assessment shows a high risk that a wildland fire 21 will ignite or spread, the electric utility shall report that outcome as an emergency to 22 the owners and occupants of adjacent properties and the commissioner of natural 23 resources as soon as practicable. The utility shall act to eliminate or limit the risk and 24 may provide advice about how to mitigate the risk. 25 (f) In this section, "wildland fire" includes the uncontrolled burning of grass, 26 brush, timber, and other vegetative material. 27  * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 28 read: 29 APPLICABILITY. AS 09.65.086, added by sec. 1 of this Act, applies to civil lawsuits 30 that are filed on or after the effective date of this Act and that are based on acts and omissions 31 that occur on or after the effective date of this Act.