Tree Trimming and Vegetation Management

Call us at 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357) to request tree trimming or if you have questions. Dominion will cut and remove tree limbs and/or brush from property as needed to maintain reliable electric service.

Customers are responsible for:

• trees/limbs that fall and are removed from wires or are cut for service restoration,
• dead, leaning trees that are cut/trimmed at any time by Dominion, and
• trees that are cut to provide proper clearance for the customer or contractor to remove a tree.

For customers with overhead service:

Dominion does not trim trees that overhang or are touching a wire that runs from an electric pole to your house or building. We will make an appointment to temporarily remove the service so your electrician or contractor can safely trim or remove the tree.
 

Safety Tips:

• Before you trim, make sure the tree does not have any power lines in or near it. If it does, call us at 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357). Don't climb in or prune trees through which power lines or service lines pass. This is very dangerous without the proper equipment and training.
• When landscaping, don't plant any trees or shrubs that will grow taller than 10 feet under power lines. It will be safer and prevent outages that can occur if trees or tree limbs are blown onto power lines.

Herbicide use represents only a small part of Dominion's rights-of-way maintenance, but it is important in controlling maintenance costs. We use low-volume foliar herbicide applications during spring and summer months, and stump treatments on both cut brush and trees year round. The stump treatments eliminate resprouting and reduce the need for maintenance. Herbicides are applied in small quantities only and are applied by trained applicators.

For more information on Dominion's herbicide program, view our Frequently Asked Herbicide Questions provided below.  

Prior to building a new power line the right-of-way must be cleared to allow construction activities and eventual transmission line operation. Property owners will be notified before construction clearing begins.  Existing low-growing vegetation may be left in place when it does not interfere with construction activities.  Additionally, trees located outside of the right-of-way which are tall enough to potentially impact the transmission line, may also be removed.  These trees are commonly referred as danger trees; view a diagram of danger tree clearances.  

You must get prior written approval to encroach on Dominion's right-of-ways with shrubs, vegetable gardens, roads, drainfields, etc. Without prior approval any plantings are subject to removal by Dominion or our contractors.  In some instances, lack of prior approval may cause the property owner to be required to remove the encroachment at their own expense.

Please include a sketch or drawing with as many specific details as possible about the proposed landscaping and/or other proposed encroachments when you submit an encroachment request packet.

For information on the transmission line right-of-way encroachment request process, contact the Manager - Transmission Right-of-Ways at 1-800-215-8032, Option 1.

• Encroachment Request

Yes, the crews in both Virginia and in North Carolina are qualified.  The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/, certifies the members of the contract crews to perform this work in Virginia.

Dominion Virginia Power's contractors vary the mixture of herbicides used from one cycle to the next to avoid the development of resistance by the plants being targeted.  However, general use herbicides are used that are similar to the products you might purchase at the store to control weeds in your lawn.  They work by interfering with metabolic processes specific to plants and have no effect on humans or animals when used properly.  The concentrated forms of these products are no more harmful to you and me than common household products like table salt.   Because they are so effective on plants, they are used in diluted solutions, usually less than five percent (5%); the rest is water.

There are several web sites available online.  However, the best source of information is your local office of the Virginia Tech Extension Service, http://www.ext.vt.edu/offices/.

Your vegetable garden would not have been directly sprayed, whether it is on or off the right of way.  Dominion Virginia Power's contractors are trained to avoid vegetable gardens just as they avoid the many agricultural fields adjacent to brush acreage on our right-of-way. 

All of our transmission foresters are International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborists.  They are experts at recognizing the effects of herbicides on plants. 

The herbicides that are used are designed to work inside the plant and break down very quickly - in a matter of days or weeks - in the presence of sunlight or in soil.  Whatever is not taken into the plant before it dries disappears quickly.

Herbicides are applied only to the brush areas in the right of way.  In other words, unless your yard is on the right of way and contains brush, it would not have been sprayed.  The area that is sprayed is safe to reenter as soon as the crew has moved off and the vegetation has dried.