Tree Warden Issues Ruling On Trees Eversource Wanted Removed

GREENWICH, CT — Town of Greenwich Tree Warden, Dr. Gregory Kramer, issued a ruling earlier this week on over two dozen trees that Eversource Energy requested be removed as part of a vegetation maintenance program.

In total, Eversource asked for the removal of 29 trees: 21 from Oval Avenue at the Riverside Train Station; five on Sound Shore Drive at Cos Cob Park; two on Sound Beach Avenue; and one at Arch Street and Summit Road.

In a decision letter sent out Tuesday, Kramer ruled that Eversoure could only remove two trees - one on Arch Street and Summit Road, and one at the Riverside Train Station.

"Removal of such trees will only be granted upon submission of a landscape plan which includes replacement tree species that is to be reviewed and approved by the Tree Warden," Kramer said in his ruling. "I welcome the continued collaboration of working with Eversource Utilities as the time necessitates the proper pruning of trees near distribution wires."

Kramer also said that "existing listed vegetation is currently in one of three conditions; being pruned cyclically away from wires, physiologically improbable to grow large enough to reach any high wires or is much too young at this stage of structural development to cause any service disruptions."

During a public hearing last week, Superivor of Transmission and Vegetation Management for Eversource, Kathy Ferrier, said the trees had to be removed in order to "maintain reliability of the transmission grid and allow access for emergency situations and line trucks."

"Vegetation and contact in close proximity of our transmission lines has the ability to cause interruptions to thousands of customers," she said during the hearing, noting that all vegetation needed to have a 25 foot clearance from the transmission lines and any new vegetation could not exceed 15 feet in height.

Eversource expressed disappointment following the ruling.

"We appreciate the Greenwich Tree Warden’s careful consideration of our request, yet we are disappointed with this decision. This work is an important part of our ongoing commitment to providing safe, reliable electric service to our customers," Eversource spokesman Frank Poirot told Patch on Wednesday.

On the other hand, the Greenwich Tree Conservancy lauded Kramer's decision.

"We are thrilled with the Tree Warden's decision and wholeheartedly agree that these trees should be saved and should not have been posted for removal. Eversource is overreaching by saying that trees need to be clear-cut 25 feet from the high wires on both sides ground to sky. This is totally unnecessary as most of these trees will not even reach those wires in maturity," said Tree Conservancy Executive Director JoAnn Messina, in an email to Patch.

"Here in Greenwich we have been very careful for decades to subscribe to the 'right tree, right place' philosophy and therefore ornamentals are predominantly planted under and near wires," Messina added. "We commend the Town Tree Warden and hope that Eversource learns from this decision," she added.

Poirot said that the trees still pose a potential risk to the flow of electricity if not today, then at some point in the future because of the way they grow, plus other factors.

"The wires move, and while we're out looking at these lines on a blue sky day, we don't see that movement. But during a storm, they move back and forth. During peak use times of the year like the summer, the metal that that cable is made out of expands, and the lines sag. The lines move, they get closer to these trees, and we consider all of those factors when deciding what trees need to be removed," Poirot said.

"While it may not look like today they may pose a threat to the lines, our arborists believe they do and we're trying to be proactive and remove them before they cause a problem for the flow of electricity in Southwest Connecticut."

Poirot said Eversource is "carefully reviewing the decision and will determine next steps."

"We always work hard to strike the right balance between our responsibility to provide safe and reliable service for our customers and respect for local priorities," he said.