Many Opposed to Clear Cutting Around Power Lines

As town and state officials, along with representatives from Connecticut Light & Power, as a solution to preventing widespread power outages caused by serious storms, there is also an ongoing debate over whether aggressively pruning or cutting down trees near power lines is a good solution.

An article in the CT Post includes interviews with tree wardens, directors of public works and local elected officials from multiple Fairfield County towns — including Greenwich’s tree warden Bruce Spaman — most of whom say when it comes to trimming trees near power lines, property owners’ rights need to be balanced against the need to keep electrical grids reliable.

In the article Spaman said Greenwich’s approach has been to remove or prune “unhealthy” trees that are seen as a potential risk to power lines. He agreed with other officials interviewed that mandatory clear cutting is not the answer.

But as public officials debate the merits and demerits of mandatory tree clearing, they are expecting to hear outcry from residents for whom protecting the trees is a priority.

As the article points out, many of the trees that pose a risk for power lines are on people's private property. Central to the debate is whether local or state laws should be adopted that would in effect give CL&P or Town workers the right to remove or prune trees near power lines when needed, regardless of whether they are located on private property.

In the article some public officials also question whether residents might be more receptive to the idea of aggressive tree trimming now that they have gone through two storms, resulting a power outages for more than 700,000 people throughout the state, many of whom had to wait days or even up to a week to have their power restored.