Starting Monday, crews working for Dominion Energy are scheduled to begin cutting down about 550 mature palmettos inside the city limits of Folly Beach, and people understandably are unhappy with the loss of so many healthy trees whose only flaw is that they're growing into overhead power lines. We see few good options here, other than channeling our frustration toward steps to minimize this sort of cutting in the years to come. There are important lessons to learn here.
The first may be the most obvious: Certain species of trees should not be planted under power lines. Dominion has a list of 26 species of trees — such as Japanese maples and certain species of holly, magnolias and viburnums — that won’t exceed 15 feet when fully mature, and the list is not all-inclusive. Species that grow taller than 15 feet eventually will be subject to pruning that may render them unsightly or, as in the case of palmettos, which can’t be pruned, result in outright removal. All property owners should be mindful of what they’re planting under or even near power lines. (Dominion has a special number for customers with questions or concerns about trees and power lines: 800-251-7234).
The second lesson is more subtle. Property owners anywhere who have palmetto trees growing under power lines should consider moving them now — before they get taller and Dominion comes calling. These mature trees can be transplanted with proper care, but the ones on Folly already are too close to the lines to do that safely, says Dominion spokesman Paul Fischer.
Transplanting the Folly trees would involve de-energizing lines for a private contractor to do the work; only OSHA certified contractors may work near energized lines. “Our goal isn’t to take down trees,” he says. “It’s to safeguard lines for our customers and the general public. With those high-voltage lines above them, even one extra foot toward that high-volt line can increase the hazard and potential for injury.”
The third lesson is the most complex, and that’s our need to continue the long, costly work to place more of our power lines underground. This is the lesson the city of Charleston pursued earlier this year when Dominion announced it would have to cut down more than 170 palmetto trees downtown that also had matured to the point where their fronds were touching power lines. In response, Charleston not only planted replacement trees but also revisited its policies for moving more power lines underground.
Folly Beach should follow suit, and we’re encouraged that Mayor Tim Goodwin plans to hold a City Council work session soon to lay out the costs and complexities of undergrounding lines. That would be a good start, though as it was in Charleston, there’s nowhere near enough time to put lines underground to save these tall palmettos.
Mayor Goodwin notes that City Council and city voters need to know more about the costs involved. He said one estimate from last year indicated it would cost about $400,000 to bury power lines along just two blocks on one street. And that doesn’t include property owners’ costs to tap into the newly buried line and possibly even upgrade their electrical service. “It’s not as easy as you think it is,” he says.
It may not be easy, but that shouldn’t stop Folly Beach and other cities from working toward burying more of their electrical lines. The benefits extend beyond sparing trees from removal or ugly pruning jobs and include greater (but not total) immunity from outages, particularly during storms with high winds.
We’re learning more than ever about the specific ways trees enhance where we live, from providing beauty and shade and cooling to wicking up stormwater that otherwise would make local flooding a little bit worse. It’s a shame Folly will lose these 550 palmettos — and it’s a shame more palmettos likely will meet similar fates as Dominion continues to inspect what’s growing under other power lines across its service area.
The sooner we take these lessons to heart, the sooner we can put a stop to losses like these.
