1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: May 21,
2024
TO: Justi
n Hess, City Manager
FROM: Jose
ph Lillio, Interim General Manager, Burbank Water and Power VIA: Riad Sleiman, Assistant General Manager, Electric Services BY: Sven Knauth, Senior Electrical Engineer
SUBJECT: V
erify the Annual Update to the Burbank Water and Power Wildfire Mitigation Plan
RECOMME
NDATION
1. Verify that Burbank Water and Power’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan (Attachment 1) complies with all applicable rules, regulations, and standards.
2. Direct Burbank Water and Power to accept all reasonable and appropriate comments on the Wildfire Mitigation Plan from the public, other local and state agencies , and interested parties that are received prior to June 21, 2024.
BACKGROUND
This report is provided to inform the Council of the City of Burbank (Council) about the annual update of Burbank Water and Power’s (BWP) Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) and to accept comments from the public and the Council. The WMP must be updated annually to comply with Public Utilities Code § 8387 (PUC 8387) regarding wildfire mitigation for publicly owned utilities (POUs).
The State
of California enacted Senate Bill 901 in September 2018 and Assembly Bill 1054 in July 2019. These bills amended PUC 8387, which addresses wildfire mitigation for POUs. This legislation included several provisions, requiring each POU to prepare and present a WMP to its governing body annually. Each POU must submit their WMP to the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board (WSAB) by July 1 st of every year. Since the first
WMP was drafted in December 2019, BWP has complied with this state law.
WATER AND
POWER
2 In 2018, a single statewide fire-threat map was adopted to define different High Fire- Threat Districts (HFTDs), which are areas of elevated fire risk (Tier 2) and areas of extreme fire risk (Tier 3) from electric utility -related wildfires. Within these HFTDs, increased fire safety regulations were enacted regarding vegetation management, clearances, and inspections. About 28% of BWP’s geographical service territory is within a Tier 2 HFTD. BWP maintains approximately 11 miles of overhead electrical lines within the Tier 2 HFTD, which is about 5.4% of the total overhead lines in the service territory.
BWP’s WMP analyzes the risk these assets pose and defines several mitigation activities that BWP pursues yearly to reduce the risk of electrical facilities igniting a wildfire in Burbank.
DISCUSSION
During the 2023 WMP cycle, BWP completed several wildfire mitigation activities in the Tier 2 HFTD, including:
• Replacing three deteriorated poles;
• Completing all annual asset and vegetation inspections; • Trimming 145 trees; and
• Blocking reclosing during Red Flag Warning days.
BWP also reviewed all rules, regulations, and standards, including the state of California’s General Order 95, Rules for Overhead Electric Line Construction, General Order 165, and Inspection Requirements for Electric Distribution and Transmission Facilities. BWP drafted a WMP that is compliant with all applicable rules, regulations, and standards.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
The existing capital improvement programs in the approved budget used for the mitigation activities in the WMP consist of several projects. Prior to the commencement of each “project,” staff will determine if it has the potential to result in a direct or indirect physical change to the environment and if it is subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed WMP has a fiscal impact on BWP’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget. BWP has budgeted $500,000 of additional CIP funds each year since fiscal year 2021/2022 for installing new technology and materials needed to reduce the risk of 3 ignitions from electrical equipment in the Tier 2 HFTD. Future full deployment of all mitigation activities will require additional funding, which will be accounted for in future budget proposals.
CONCLUSION
BWP’s WMP is a comprehensive document that meets the statutory requirements in accordance with PUC § 8387. The acti vities outlined in this WMP update will further reduce the risk of wildfire due to BWP electrical facilities, improve the reliability of circuits in the Tier 2 HFTD, and continue our long- standing commendable safety record in our community.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Burbank Water and Power Wildfire Mitigation Plan 2024