[Trees] Fwd: HB 1776 signed!!

[Pauline Bartolone]

> >> Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 11:31:12 -0500
> >> To: geknapp at davesworld.net
> >> From: "Gretchen E. Knapp" <geknapp at davesworld.net>
> >> Subject: HB 1776 signed!!
> >> Bcc: save our trees
> >>
> >> Howdy concerned citizens!
> >>
> >> Get out the party hats and start celebrating our first victory toward
> >> protecting
> >> our property rights and our trees!!  And congratulate yourselves for 
>all of
> >> your hard
> >> work and continued support!!
> >>
> >> HB 1776 Signed by Ryan
> >> Yesterday Gov. Ryan finally signed HB 1776, the
> >> utility tree-trimming bill, which became effective
> >> immediately.  Attending by invitation only to represent you
> >> were John McMahon and Laura Huth for C-U, and
> >> Gretchen Knapp and Mary Lapham for B-N.
> >> As you know, John is our hardworking attorney,
> >> Laura founded IPCUTSOT right after the awful
> >> tariff surfaced, Mary founded the B-N branch,
> >> and Gretchen has been coordinating.
> >>
> >> Witnesses to HB 1776 Signing
> >> Reps. Rutherford, Brady, Berns, and Winkel were
> >> present; so was Sen. Maitland.  We saw the mayors
> >> of Normal and Flanagan, and other municipality
> >> officers attended.  Rep. Rutherford mentioned Save
> >> Our Trees as one of the groups who worked hard
> >> for a resolution of the tree-trimming problem.
> >>
> >> Media Coverage of HB 1776
> >> We did a media blitz with TV, radio, and newspaper
> >> interviews in C-U, B-N, Peoria, and Springfield
> >> to educate our fellow property owners
> >> about the bill's effect on them.  Incidentally, the
> >> Gov. thought he was signing under an "old oak tree"
> >> which wasn't an oak at all.  Gretchen gave the Gov.
> >> Save Our Trees buttons and leaflets and showed
> >> him a recent photo of an IP-butchered tree on
> >> East Washington St. in Bloomington near the State
> >> Farm headquarters.
> >>
> >> What HB 1776 Does For Us:  Local Standards
> >>
> >> If you live in a municipality with a tree-trimming
> >> ordinance, HB 1776 says that the power company
> >> must follow the municipality's standards for trimming.
> >>
> >> However, the law also says that cities/towns have
> >> to pay any additional costs of trimming according
> >> to local ordinances.  How much and who pays?
> >> Everyone wants to know.  Stay tuned.
> >>
> >> What HB 1776 Does For Us:  Extended Notification
> >> The bill extends the time period in which a power
> >> company must notify you that they're going to trim
> >> your trees to between 21 and 90 days.  And citizens
> >> have a toll-free number to call if they have complaints
> >> (this last part is in the existing law).
> >>
> >>  If you have problems with trimming and you live under
> >> a tree-trimming ordinance, at least you can have your
> >>  community arborist provide an independent evaluation
> >> and can appeal to your local government for help.
> >>
> >> What HB 1776 Doesn't Do For Us:  Exemptions
> >> If you don't live under a tree-trimming ordinance, your trees
> >> will be trimmed according to ANSI A300 and OSHA standards,
> >> which are as vague as possible.  These standards described
> >> in the bill refer to worker safety and say nothing about methods
> >> of tree-trimming (like "topping") or easements or how much
> >> can be trimmed or how far away from the line a power company
> >> can trim.  In other words,  you're out of luck.
> >>
> >> Sure, you can phone the toll-free number and complain to the ICC.
> >> But a tiny percentage of complaints received by the ICC are
> >> determined as justified by the ICC.  Take a look at the customer
> >> satisfaction section on the ICC website at www.icc.state.il.us
> >>
> >> The city of Chicago is exempt from the law -- but not the surrounding
> >> counties in Chicagoland.  Chicago made an agreement with
> >> Commonwealth Edison.
> >>
> >> And notice that this bill does not set any penalties for utility
> >> companies which do not follow its directive.  The ICC is supposed
> >> to regulate utilities, although many are exempt.  For example,
> >> rural electric cooperatives like Corn Belt Energy, and muncipal-
> >> owned power companies, like the one in Springfield, are not
> >> regulated by the ICC.
> >>
> >> Normal Signs Agreement With Illinois Power
> >> After losing a lawsuit and appeal to the town of
> >> Normal over tree-trimming, Illinois Power signed
> >> an agreement earlier this week to work closely
> >> with Normal's arborist in tree-trimming this fall.
> >> Several areas of Normal have not been trimmed
> >> for ten (10) years.  Begining in September, residents
> >> will see IP crews around town working under the
> >> municipality's direction beginning in September.
> >> Help us monitor tree-trimming by reporting/checking
> >> www.geocities.com/trimupdate/
> >>
> >> New Tariff
> >> Get ready for the new tariff which should be appearing
> >> this fall.  Although the municipalities, the utilities, CUB,
> >> and IPCUTSOT resolved many areas of disagreement,
> >> two key areas remain.  Unfortunately, we remain under
> >> Rutherford's 'gag order'.  Illinois' regulation of utility
> >> easements is a very complex issue, and we hope that
> >> clarification of utility easements will be on the agenda.
> >>
> >> Next Mailing
> >> We're still mailing out copies of "Power Utilities &
> >> Tree-Trimming in Illinois" which explains HB 1776's
> >> affect on your property rights and what you can do to
> >> preserve those rights.  You can pick up copies at the
> >> Champaign and Urbana libraries, the Ecology Action
> >> Center in Normal, the Anita Purves Nature Center
> >> in Urbana, Common Ground food store, the Farmers'
> >> Market (ISEN table), and at ISEN's offices in Urbana.
> >>
> >> Save Our Trees!
> >
>
>


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp