Rep. Ryan Zinke's Statement on the Senate Energy Bill

Press Release

Today the Senate passed the bipartisan Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016 with a vote of 85-12. The bill will now be conferenced with the House version, H.R. 8, The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, which was passed in December.

"I'm encouraged by the bill the Senate passed today and I think it gives both chambers the opportunity to pass a bill that will modernize America's energy infrastructure and grow our production," said Rep. Zinke. "I'm very happy that provisions to reauthorize LWCF and export liquid natural gas were included, and also that my bills to reauthorize two Montana hydro projects were included in this package. Going forward I'll be working with House and Senate conference committees to keep the provision I included in HR8 that would protect Montana's rural electrical grids from fires and downed trees."

Included in the comprehensive House energy bill is Rep. Ryan Zinke's H.R. 2358, the Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act, which is listed as Section 1112, "Vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance on Federal lands containing electric transmission and distribution facilities." H.R. 2358 improves the safety and reliability of the electric grid on federal lands reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires and costly electricity blackouts.

On the House bill, Rep. Zinke said: "In order for us to remain globally competitive, we need innovative approaches to enhance our energy development potential. H.R.8 does exactly that. I am proud to have my bill, H.R.2358, included within the package. Currently, if a tree falls on a power line that is on federal land, utility crews must go through regulatory back flips just to remove it. It should not take an act of Congress to remove a tree. Our co-ops, who service 40 percent of Montana, deserve far better, as do all Americans who need reliable electric service to keep their lights on."

"Delivering affordable and reliable electricity in a state such as Montana with its vast and diverse geographical terrain is a constant challenge. Rep. Zinke's legislation is vital for helping ensure that this challenge isn't made insurmountable by unnecessary bureaucratic red tape," said Dave Wheelihan, CEO of Montana Electric Cooperatives' Association. The association represents consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative utilities serving about 40 percent of the state's population.

Mark Hayden, General Manager of the Missoula Electric Cooperative said, "Missoula Electric Cooperative strongly supports the Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act of 2015 which was introduced by Congressman Zinke. The bill would give electric utilities more consistent and streamlined processes in order to manage our rights-of-way on federal land. It allows for sensible procedures to reduce the long delays that have become the norm for some utilities, and proposes training of federal personnel to ensure consistency going forward."

As it stands, if a tree presents an imminent danger of falling on a power line that is on federal land, utility crews have to go through a rather lengthy bureaucratic process just to remove a single tree. Just one tree hitting a power line is all it takes to financially devastate a co-op or utility company, destroy thousands of acres of forest land, and jeopardize our entire electric grid. That doesn't just apply to Montana, this can happen anywhere in the U.S.

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