Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held an oversight hearing on the management of electricity rights-of-way on public lands and how enacting the Fix Our Forests Act would grant utilities greater flexibility to manage threats to public safety and electric grid reliability. Subcommittee Chair Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) issued the following statement in response:

“Bureaucratic red tape puts our livelihoods and electric grid at risk. Nearly 90,000 miles of power lines cross lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, yet utilities face years of delays to remove hazard trees or replace aging poles. Inconsistent and drawn out permitting drives up electric bills and leaves communities vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire.

“The House passed the Fix Our Forests Act to restore healthy forests, strengthen collaboration between federal agencies and utilities and give utilities greater flexibility to manage threats to public safety and electric grid reliability. The Natural Resources Committee is committed to restoring healthy forests, improving coordination on rights-of-way and ensuring Americans have reliable power.”

Background

Nearly 90,000 miles of electricity rights-of-way (ROW) are on lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Electric utility ratepayers bear the costs of operating, maintaining and repairing the electricity lines on ROWs, but the current federal policies are disjointed and inconsistent. Inconsistent permitting and approval processes are devastating for ratepayers, public safety, utilities and their infrastructure.

Addressing administrative hurdles is key to defending against the threat of wildfire. The U.S. House of Representatives passed Chairman Bruce Westerman’s (R-Ark.) bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act in January 2025 to restore healthy forests, strengthen collaboration between federal agencies and utilities and provide utilities with greater tools to manage threats to electric grid reliability and threats to public safety. The Senate must act to pass the Fix Our Forests Act to address these administrative hurdles.

For more information on the hearing, click here.