Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) In addition to the other requirements of this subchapter, transmission lines, as defined at 14:5-1.2, are subject to the requirements in this section.
(b) At a minimum, each EDC shall meet the requirements for minimum clearances between any transmission line and the closest vegetation, which are set forth in the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) FAC-003-4, which is incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented and available at www.nerc.com.
(c) Except as provided at (f) below, the following shall apply in the wire zone:
1. An EDC shall allow woody plants that are agricultural crops that naturally mature at 12 feet or less;
2. Other than as provided at (c)1 above, the EDC shall not allow woody plants that mature above three feet tall to grow in the wire zone, and the preferred growth shall be grasses or a low-growing, compatible, scrub-shrub plant community to obtain a meadow effect where possible.
(d) Except as provided at (f) below, the EDC shall apply integrated vegetation management (IVM) in the border zone. IVM is a best management practice conveyed in the American National Standard for Tree Care Operations, Part 7 (ANSI 2006) and the International Society of Arboriculture's Best Management Practices: Integrated Vegetation Management (Miller 2007).
(e) In addition to meeting the other requirements in this section, each EDC shall ensure that the following requirements for transmission lines are met, except for those instances set forth in (f) below:
1. Clearing under transmission lines shall be wide enough within the EDC's right of way so that no vegetation or parts of vegetation will grow or fall into the transmission lines;
2. Only grass vegetation shall be permitted to grow within three feet of any structure;
3. Where an EDC has cleared a right of way of vegetation and bare soil is exposed, the EDC shall comply with the soil erosion requirements of the applicable soil conservation district in order to prevent soil erosion. A list of the soil conservation districts in New Jersey may be found at
www.state.nj.us/agriculture/divisions/anr/nrc/conservdistricts.html;
4. To the extent that any plant species identified as invasive and non-indigenous to New Jersey poses a threat to the maintenance of the right of way or a hazard to electrical transmission conductors, the EDC shall not plant that species in the right of way, and shall make reasonable efforts to actively eliminate from the entire right of way the species identified as invasive and non-indigenous, see Snyder, David and Sylvan R. Kaufman, 2004. An overview of non-indigenous plant species in New Jersey. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, Office of Natural Lands Management, Natural Heritage Program, Trenton, NJ (available at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/natural/heritage/InvasiveReport.pdf, and incorporated by reference herein, including any supplements and amendments thereto). To do so, the EDC shall use the best integrated vegetation management practices available and practical; and
5. Each year in the March billing cycle, or two months prior to the commencement of vegetation management work on a particular property, whichever is earlier, each EDC shall advise customers of the requirements in this subsection, through a direct notification.
(f) Notwithstanding (d) and (e) above, an EDC may leave trees and other woody vegetation within the transmission right of way under any of the following conditions:
1. The right-of-way document, easement, indenture, deed or other written land rights, executed before Jan 1, 2007, expressly permit vegetation to be located within the transmission right of way;
2. The slope of the topography exceeds 30 degrees and the transmission right of way is such that the tree or other vegetation at mature height will allow a space of more than 150 percent of the clearance requirements for an electrical path to ground, as set forth in the National Electric Safety Code, § 232 to § 235; or
3. Trees are located within an inactive transmission corridor and at mature height will allow a space of more than 150 percent of the clearance requirements for an electrical path to ground set forth in the National Electric Safety Code, § 232 to § 235.
(g) For the purposes of this section, the mature height of all vegetation, including agricultural crops, shall be determined in accordance with the publications listed in 14:5-9.6(a), or equivalent publications. Each EDC shall provide lists of acceptable species on its website or in a publication provided free of charge upon request by a ratepayer.
(h) Each year, by May 31, the EDC shall develop a schedule for transmission line vegetation management, which shall be included in the EDC's annual system performance report as required by 14:5-8.8. The schedule shall:
1. List the transmission lines planned for vegetation management for the next four years in advance (one of the four-year cycles required at 14:5-9.4(b) ) ;
2. Ensure that vegetation management on transmission lines is performed prior to vegetation becoming a threat to safety or service reliability; and
3. List the municipalities and the year when vegetation management work is anticipated to be done in each municipality.
(i) The EDC shall post the transmission line vegetation management schedule required under (h) above on its website and distribute it to affected municipalities and public authorities in accordance with 14:5-9.10.
