[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6357627,"mediaKeyId","2213850-ec94758b076150e749d193a0d01fc2a5","parentId",2213850,"title","Panel advances bill encouraging utility wildfire-mitigation plans, limits strict liability","audioSeconds",2553,"startMs",4492000,"endMs",7045000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2213850-ec94758b076150e749d193a0d01fc2a5&start=4492&end=7045","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2213850-ec94758b076150e749d193a0d01fc2a5/thumbnail_4492000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6357627/North-Dakota/Panel-advances-bill-encouraging-utility-wildfire-mitigation-plans-limits-strict-liability","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6357627-b6e21c6640ba793079be87694e297690/orig.mp4?Expires=1771169176&Signature=RO9qpc8hMabr5SqJsdwbT23tZiL-oYaxLRvEKo~llNKSt02a5iD5o7IGPpWLatGVuhtj-YMhwnX7MqJTHReBtxEASOjVtWMgXiHuq4snd3u~Ip4WRVOmpkHPIWlq0P~DDweMN3zinvn3sPIpjSje4JUl-iovL3LGM7fvEb5ml2IDYLz2Tsz9EVmJvvRh0GdtwKaRXYp78CT~EsXH0683HeKvebj5cnV41mIJs1xRIZeUyqw0SurSjvlzWrjVo9Tiht-bf5AD4kYSglGX8TsxsUJBzw~79dL9usPsik0hJyhh7JxnkjF9H4inNPdC3ZwU5kvIpfViuZ7e6FonmN~icg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Senate Energy and Natural Resources, ND","date","2025-01-31T00:00:00Z","article","The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee adopted amendments and voted to recommend a do-pass on Senate Bill 2339, legislation that encourages utilities to prepare wildfire mitigation plans and limits application of strict liability to qualified utilities.

Senator Greg Kessel, sponsor of SB 2339, said the bill \"prioritizes public safety by addressing wildfire risk and ensuring utilities develop and implement effective wildfire mitigation plans.\" He told the committee the measure balances public-safety protection with utilities' financial stability. (Sen. Greg Kessel)

What the bill does: SB 2339 allows qualified utilities to prepare wildfire mitigation plans (WMPs). If a utility files a WMP and follows it, the bill makes that compliance \"evidence, subject to rebuttal,\" that the utility exercised a reasonable standard of care. The bill also limits application of strict liability to qualified utilities for wildfire damages — requiring plaintiffs to prove negligence rather than holding utilities strictly liable for wildfire-related damages. Supporters said codifying the standard reduces litigation risk that has driven utilities into insolvency in other states.

Support from utilities and cooperatives: Xcel Energy, Montana‑Dakota Utilities (MDU) and the North Dakota electric cooperatives testified in favor. Anne Sherwood of Xcel described a set of mitigation measures — \"situational awareness, system resiliency, operational mitigations, and customer support\" — and said the company's goal is to \"prevent catastrophic wildfires before they happen.\" Xcel cited tools including enhanced meteorology, weather stations, artificial‑intelligence cameras, fire‑spread modeling, tree‑trimming, asset inspection and operational measures such as enhanced power‑line safety settings (EPSS) and, as a last resort, public‑safety power shutoffs (PSPS). (Anne Sherwood, Xcel Energy)

MDU's Rebecca Naslund described steps her utility has taken to increase situational awareness and operational control, including a distribution SCADA deployment and an outage-management system implemented in January 2024. She told the committee those systems help the company monitor and respond to outage and fire‑risk conditions. (Rebecca Naslund, Montana‑Dakota Utilities)

Liability and legal background: Dennis Pathrock, representing a coalition of power companies, explained the legal distinction between strict liability and negligence and said North Dakota courts already have limited the application of strict liability to electric infrastructure (citing Meyer v. Mackenzie Electric). He said codifying the limitation will provide regulatory certainty for creditors, insurers and rating agencies and avoid the kinds of bankruptcy risks seen in other states where strict liability was applied to utilities.

Amendment and committee action: The committee adopted an amendment to expand coverage to municipal electric utilities and municipal joint action agencies and made some drafting changes (motion to adopt amendment by Senator Greg Kessel; second by Senator Beard). The amendment passed on a 7–0 electronic vote. After amendment adoption the committee voted 7–0 to recommend a do-pass on SB 2339 as amended. Senator Kessel volunteered to carry the bill to the floor.

Discussion vs. decision: Committee discussion included whether filing a WMP should be mandatory (the bill uses \"may\" to permit utilities to file plans) and how compliance with a filed plan would affect liability standards. Witnesses said utilities that file and follow plans will have evidence of meeting a reasonable standard of care; those that do not file may have less demonstrable protection in litigation.

Ending: Supporters framed the bill as a preventative, risk‑management approach that both reduces wildfire risk and protects customers from higher long‑term costs that can arise if utilities face insolvency from wildfire litigation. The committee's do-pass recommendation moves the measure to the full Senate with broad, bipartisan committee support.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Energy and Natural Resources Jan 31, 2025\t","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee adopted amendments and recommended a do-pass on Senate Bill 2339, a measure that encourages utilities to prepare wildfire mitigation plans and limits strict liability for qualified utilities, after testimony from investor‑owned utilities, cooperatives and regulators.","taxTitle","Energy and Natural Resources, Senate, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28903,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6357634,"Senate committee advances study of state fire-service operations after large wildfires",4183,299000,4482000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2213850-ec94758b076150e749d193a0d01fc2a5&start=299&end=4482","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2213850-ec94758b076150e749d193a0d01fc2a5/thumbnail_299000.jpg","/articles/6357634/North-Dakota/Senate-committee-advances-study-of-state-fire-service-operations-after-large-wildfires","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6357634-8c4844e0755d6b4be7ccec416940fc29/orig.mp4?Expires=1771169176&Signature=gIPleUShJj2VneJdAc4Xbq2gJI0vh3nAId75Y71ksBOBR8LNyJBsd0AWpIIqxD2WFgLf9CPQECyTD~C9DC9MtgGLkfSXk2BwopwhgJxZ6F~rQQ3hjUs8ChT5X31dsmX~sxaxSzbTXC3jfogZYw6JU3l7xyPz19EFRbX-2AZx6dCJGVAWDxe3BE3ObZMtWAEKxNmWgqWQnX~LP1~6HMzCyPUKJyWHdUp~rhSi0d818LyCpO6JE5heTP3~YEfCmKSKP86k6jFit8g7UHPZTW253AkKbDTWrl5zgMjY7hUtA3Z3D-oZWjWgjns8c2lQ~a8D1LhVdir14iVzIbX2JcwB0Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recommended a do-pass for Senate Bill 2340 following a hearing in which firefighters, emergency managers and the State Fire Marshal described stretched resources and gaps in coordination during recent major wildland fires.

Senator Greg Kessel, sponsor of SB 2340, told the committee the bill would fund a comprehensive study to \"assess current capabilities and identify gaps\" and to develop \"a road map to enhance the state's fire service preparedness and response capabilities.\" He opened testimony by saying, \"The devastating October wildfires highlighted critical shortcomings in our state's emergency response capabilities.\" (Sen. Greg Kessel)

Why it matters: Committee testimony said local volunteer departments and county emergency managers bore the brunt of recent large fires, leaving little capacity to backfill other emergencies. Witnesses asked the Legislature to require a statewide sit-down of local, state and federal partners to identify training, mobilization, resource and communications improvements.

State Fire Marshal Doug Nelson described arriving at the October fires and seeing largely the same firefighters working long shifts days after the initial starts. Nelson asked, \"Am I doing enough?\" and described the State Fire Marshal's Office as having 10 staff, saying that the study would let agencies \"stand back, get all partners to the table and all stakeholders to the table to make the best decisions for the fire service as we go forward.\" (Doug Nelson, State Fire Marshal)

Local chiefs and county emergency managers told similar stories. Williston Fire Chief Matthew Clark said his agency responded to a \"90,000-acre\" incident that required more than 25 agencies and described crews pushed to their limits: \"we were sending crews upwards 5 to 6 miles ahead of the fire just to try to do what we could to catch it.\" (Dr. Matthew Clark, Williston Fire Chief)

Billings County Chief and Emergency Manager Kyle Shockley, and Williams County Emergency Management Director Mike Smith, described repeated multi‑agency responses, the need for regionalized protocols to backfill volunteer departments, and the large number of hazardous-material facilities in parts of the state. \"North Dakota is made about 94% of volunteer firefighters,\" Shockley said, arguing the study could help develop protocols to backfill stations during high‑risk periods. (Kyle Shockley)

Watford City Chief Dave Bulick said his department and neighboring departments were tapped out during the October fires and urged creation of a regionalized system so local chiefs can call a single point of contact for resources. Carrington Volunteer Fire Chief Ken Wong described a separate July rail-derailment hazmat response that required extended personnel rotations and mutual-aid assets from across the region.

What the bill would do: SB 2340 would establish a legislative-management study to convene stakeholders — including local fire chiefs, Department of Emergency Services, the State Fire Marshal, Department of Forestry, National Guard and others — to evaluate training, mobilization, coordination, and resource needs, and to produce recommendations for operational and funding changes.

Discussion vs. decision: Committee discussion focused on whether the study should examine prevention as well as response. Senator Kessel and others said SB 2340 is intended as the response-side study, with a follow-up bill addressing prevention and industry engagement. The committee voted to recommend a do-pass on SB 2340.

Votes and next steps: The committee adopted a motion for a due-pass recommendation on SB 2340 (mover: Senator Beard; second: Senator Gearhart). The electronic vote recorded 7 ayes, 0 nays. Senator Greg Kessel volunteered to carry the bill to the Senate floor.

Ending: Supporters emphasized regional planning, clearer communication lines, and sustained funding and training for volunteer and career firefighters. Proponents said the study is the first step to produce recommendations lawmakers can use to improve readiness and avoid exhausting local resources in future large-scale incidents.

","The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recommended a \"do pass\" for Senate Bill 2340, a legislative-management study to assess North Dakota's fire-service operational and response needs after large October wildfires that stretched local and regional resources.","actionData","errors"]

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Panel advances bill encouraging utility wildfire-mitigation plans, limits strict liability

Senate committee advances study of state fire-service operations after large wildfires