Tree touching power lines in Virginia, United States: who is responsible

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes the pages of two utilities and one Act. It does not cover Virginia's electric cooperatives or municipal utilities, and no State Corporation Commission page on trees was opened for this page. Other states have their own rules.

What Dominion Energy says

The Dominion Energy page Virginia/North Carolina Tree Trimming and Powerlines says nearly all neighbourhood power lines are cleared on a four year cycle, that it sends a letter or a bill message approximately 30 days before line clearing begins, and that trained line-clearing professionals follow ANSI A300 and use directional pruning, commonly a V shape around the lines.

Question	What the Dominion Energy page says
Service line	During scheduled maintenance it trims only limbs that vigorously rub against the service line to a home or business, and does not cut down live or dead trees on or near that line. It says it will disconnect the service line at no cost so owners or their contractor can safely remove limbs or trees.
Debris from maintenance	It removes pruning debris and brush from maintenance trimming in residential areas. Larger limbs and trunks remain on the owner's land.
Debris from hazard trees and storms	The page says all limbs and debris are the property owner's responsibility, and that tree debris from storms is the responsibility of the tree owner.
Trees within 10 feet	In Virginia, when an owner asks for help with trees or limbs within 10 feet of its lines and it removes or prepares a tree for removal under the Virginia Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act, the page says the debris remains the owner's responsibility.
Ash trees	As part of a mitigation plan approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, it says its personnel and contractors cut down dead or dying ash trees that could affect distribution lines along distribution rights of way, and that debris from the take down is the owner's.
Rural rights of way	A minimum of 20 feet is trimmed above the primary distribution line and 15 feet to the side.

The Dominion Energy page Vegetation Management gives right-of-way widths of 30 to 50 feet for distribution lines and 50 to 500 feet for transmission lines. It says that any landscaping placed on an easement needs written approval from the company in advance, that plantings without it are subject to removal, and that landscaping on an easement must have a mature height of less than ten feet.

What Appalachian Power says

The Appalachian Power page Reliability and Tree Trimming says it maintains more than 26,000 miles of overhead distribution lines in Virginia, develops its program each year from vegetation conditions and outage history, and sends a forester or other representative to review conditions before crews enter an area. It says its vegetation work is focused on protecting the electric system and that property owners remain responsible for managing trees and limbs outside that scope.

The Appalachian Power page Report Tree Problem says its forestry team inspects a reported tree and either speaks to the owner or leaves a door hanger with its assessment. It says the company trims or removes only trees growing too close to lines that run from pole to pole, and does not trim trees threatening the service drop, which is the owner's responsibility. For that work it gives 800-956-4237 and asks for at least two business days before the work so a crew can temporarily disconnect the service line.

What Virginia law says

The Code of Virginia chapter known as the Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act (section 59.1-406 and following) defines an overhead high voltage line as above ground bare or insulated conductors of more than 600 volts. Section 59.1-408 says that unless the danger of contact is guarded against under section 59.1-410, no person may perform, or require another person to perform, work that will put any person, tool, machinery, ladder, equipment or material within 10 feet (3.1 meters) of such a line. It says occupational safety and health regulations may require a greater clearance.

Section 59.1-410 says a person who wants to work closer must promptly notify the owner or operator of the line, and may work only after satisfactory mutual arrangements are negotiated, which may include temporary mechanical barriers. The line owner starts the agreed arrangements within five working days of the request. The expense is paid by the person responsible, and for property used for residential purposes the section sets a US$1,000 figure, limiting the expenses to those in excess of that amount. Section 59.1-411 lists what the notice contains, including the location, the type and extent of the work and the dates. Section 59.1-412 says the chapter is enforced as to employers by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry and that otherwise a civil penalty of up to US$1,000 may be imposed by the general district court.

What the sources leave out

The pages read give no Virginia rule on which party clears a private tree and no price for any owner. They do not say who pays when a private tree falls on a service line.

Who to call

Dominion Energy, Virginia and North Carolina tree trimming page: a tree or limb touching a power line, or a service line disconnect, per the company
Appalachian Power, report a tree problem page: a tree near its lines or a service line disconnect before tree work: 800-956-4237, per the company