2941-S AAS 3/4/98 S5406

2941-S AAS 3/4/98 S5406.1

SHB 2941 - S AMD - 851

By Senators Hargrove, Brown and Finkbeiner

ADOPTED 3/4/98

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds:

(a) Utilities that provide service for the public necessity and convenience, particularly electric, water, and sewer utilities, maintain facilities in rights of way and where easements, both acquired and implied, exist;

(b) Vegetation growth on state lands and private properties adjacent to utility facilities can cause damage to utility facilities and pose public safety concerns where such vegetation grows or falls into these facilities; and

(c) When vegetation from adjacent land or property causes damage to utility facilities, utility service to customers might be disrupted, collateral damage might occur to other properties, and the general public might be placed in imminent danger.

(2) The legislature declares:

(a) Utilities have a dual interest in protecting their facilities from potential damages caused by vegetation on adjacent lands or properties and preserving service continuity and reliability for the customer;

(b) The cutting or removal of trees, timber, and shrubs by a utility from adjacent lands or properties is often done to protect the utility's facilities, to maintain service continuity and reliability, and to protect the general public, not for commercial or profit-motivated purposes; and

(c) Utilities should be immune from liability, including special damages for emotional distress, when a utility cuts or removes from adjacent lands or properties vegetation that has damaged, poses an imminent threat to, or encroached upon utility facilities and the utility has given appropriate notice and opportunity to the land or property owner or resident.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 64.12 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A utility is immune from liability under RCW 64.12.030 and 64.12.040, when it cuts or removes any trees, timber, or shrubs that:

(a) Have damaged utility facilities or pose a hazard to the general public health, safety, or welfare and the utility makes a reasonable effort as soon as practical to notify and secure agreement from an adjacent land or property owner of record, or the resident of the property, regarding the disposal of any trees, timber, or shrubs that have been cut or removed by the utility;

(b) Pose an imminent threat to damage utility facilities and the utility makes a reasonable effort to notify and secure agreement from an adjacent land or property owner of record, or the resident of the property, regarding the cutting or removal and disposal of any trees, timber, or shrubs located on land or property adjacent to utility facilities; or

(c) Encroached upon utility facilities and the utility secures an agreement from an adjacent land or property owner of record, or the resident of the property, regarding the cutting or removal and disposal of any trees, timber, or shrubs located on land or property adjacent to utility facilities.

(2) Damages under RCW 64.12.030 or 64.12.040 for cutting or removal of natural vegetation by a utility shall be limited to stumpage value.

(3) In no event shall a utility be liable for damages for emotional distress for cutting or removing any trees, timber, or shrubs located on land or property adjacent to utility facilities.

(4) For the purposes of this section:

(a) "Utility facility" means lines, conduits, ducts, poles, wires, pipes, conductors, cables, cross-arms, receivers, transmitters, transformers, instruments, machines, appliances, instrumentalities, and all devices, real estate, easements, apparatus, property, and routes used, operated, owned, or controlled by an electric, water, or sewer utility, natural gas, or telecommunications company, for the purposes of manufacturing, transmitting, distributing, selling, or furnishing electricity, water, sewer, natural gas, or telecommunications services; and

(b) "Natural vegetation" means a tree indigenous to the area in which it has grown and is of such age and condition that it can be reasonably determined to have grown naturally in its present location and it was not planted for the purposes of residential aesthetics, or commercial, production, or retail sale."

SHB 2941 - S AMD - 851

By Senators Hargrove, Brown and Finkbeiner

ADOPTED 3/4/98

On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "vegetation;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "adding a new section to chapter 64.12 RCW; and creating a new section."