Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act of 2025
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Would allow the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to include vegetation-removal authority directly in special use permits or easements granted to electrical utilities on federal lands — letting utilities cut trees and brush near power lines without going through a separate timber sale process.
The streamlined approach is aimed at reducing wildfire risk by making it easier and faster to clear hazardous vegetation along electrical corridors on National Forest System and Bureau of Land Management lands.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to include, in special use permits or easements given to electrical utilities on federal lands, explicit permission to cut and remove trees or other vegetation near distribution or transmission lines — without requiring the agency to conduct a separate timber sale. The permission would only apply when the cutting and removal is consistent with any applicable land and resource management plan and other applicable environmental laws.
If a utility sells any of the removed material, it would be required to remit the proceeds to the relevant agency (less any transportation costs incurred in the sale). The bill does not require utilities to sell removed material; it only sets the financial terms if they choose to do so. The bill covers National Forest System lands and lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Key provisions
- 1Would allow the Forest Service and BLM to include in special use permits or easements permission for electrical utilities to cut and remove trees or vegetation near power lines without a separate timber sale.
- 2Would require any permit or easement with cutting authority to mandate that utilities remit proceeds from the sale of removed material to the relevant agency, minus transportation costs.
- 3Would clarify that nothing in the proceeds provision requires a utility to sell removed material; sale and remittance rules apply only if the utility chooses to sell.
Who would be affected
Electrical utilities that hold or seek special use permits or easements on National Forest System lands or Bureau of Land Management lands. The Forest Service and BLM would gain new discretionary authority to embed vegetation-clearing permission in those permits. Communities near power lines crossing federal lands could benefit indirectly from faster, cheaper vegetation management.
Why it matters
Currently, removing trees near power lines on federal land can require a separate timber sale process, adding cost, time, and administrative steps for utilities and agencies. If enacted, this bill would allow that work to be folded into an existing permit, potentially accelerating vegetation management in corridors where overgrown trees create ignition risks during dry or windy conditions.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
How implementation would work
The Forest Service (under the Secretary of Agriculture) and BLM (under the Secretary of the Interior) would exercise the new authority on a case-by-case basis when issuing or revising special use permits or easements for electrical utilities. Each covered permit must contain a proceeds-remittance clause if the utility sells removed material. Agencies would retain discretion over whether to grant the permission, and any cutting must still conform to land management plans and environmental laws. No new rulemaking or reporting requirement is specified in the bill.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Official CRS summary
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This bill allows the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to expedite the removal of trees or other vegetation near electrical lines on their lands under certain circumstances. Specifically, the Forest Service and the BLM may include in special use permits or easements provided to electrical utilities permission to cut, remove, and sell trees or other vegetation near electrical lines on such lands without a separate timber sale if the cutting or removal is consistent with (1) any applicable land and resource management plan, and (2) other applicable environmental laws.
A special use permit or easement that includes permission for cutting and removal of trees or vegetation must include a requirement that, if the applicable electrical utility sells any portion of the material removed under the permit or easement, the utility must provide to the Forest Service or the BLM any proceeds received from the sale, less any transportation costs incurred in the sale.
Legislative subjects
Electric power generation and transmission; Fires; Forests, forestry, trees; Licensing and registrations; Public Lands and Natural Resources