Catastrophic Event Memorandum Account (CEMA) Expanded Wood Debris Management Program
Hazardous tree removal and debris management
Quick Facts
Location
14 Counties in Central and Northern California
Role
Prime Contractor
Completion Date
December 2019
Project Overview
Following the conclusion of the Butte Fire response in 2016, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) designed an Expanded Debris Management (EDM) program to remove and process vegetative material surrounding their power lines. The EDM program responded to the tree mortality dilemma by targeting vegetative material left from felling operations specific to PG&E’s 2nd Patrol. The program covered approximately 70,000 line miles and spans a geographic area consisting of twelve counties across California. Approximately 400 project workers are presently connected to the EDM program, which was initiated immediately after tree felling operations.
The goal of the EDM program was to remove all hazardous trees from private property within a deemed proximity to a structure or PG&E assets. EDM crews lawfully entered the private property and removed dead and dying trees as identified by PG&E. All material collected from EDM operations was taken to the appropriate temporary Debris Management Site (DMS) for processing (reduction) or preparation for transportation to a timber mill or a biomass facility for beneficial reuse.
Project Highlights
88,000
Trees Removed
400K
Tons of Vegetative Material Removed
1,000
P&J and Subcontractor Workers at Peak
40K+
Acres Covered by Phillips
Phillips Contribution
Phillips provided over 110 crews to remove more than 25,000 hazardous trees during the 2016 Butte Fire response, and PG&E continued this relationship into the CEMA EDM program. After the material was delivered to a Phillips DMS, the scope transitioned to reducing or processing the material in preparation for final re-use. The material was unloaded and sorted, with resulting stockpiles consisting of either material to be reduced via mechanized grinding or whole-length logs accepted as marketable timber. Marketable timber was prepared and loaded for transportation to the appropriate timber mill, with any resulting proceeds returned to PG&E in the form of a credit. All other material was reduced via grinding and delivered to the appropriate facility for reuse.
Of the tonnage hauled to DMSs by EDM crews, the vast majority was mechanically reduced, with the resulting chips transported to cogeneration facilities around the state. Beginning in May of 2017, much of the material was hauled directly to cogeneration facilities, bypassing Phillips DMS entirely. The cogeneration facilities, which included Sierra Pacific Industries and IHI Power plants, provided credits back to Phillips for the material received. Phillips, in turn, provided salvage proceeds to subcontract crews.
During peak production season, over 1,000 workers (including Phillips and subcontractor employees) supported the project simultaneously, amounting to approximately 70 cutting crews, 120 gathering and hauling crews, and performing grinding operations in 8 permitted debris management sites in 8 discrete counties. Over half of the project employees were residents of the State of California.
Approximately 11,000 unique properties in 12 counties were cleared through the removal of approximately 88,000 trees (greater than 400,000 tons of vegetative material) as part of the EDM program. In total, Phillips performed vegetation management services on more than 40,000 acres under the PG&E CEMA EDM program.
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