Palmetto trees are being cut down to protect power lines. Why can't the lines be buried? (2024)

SULLIVAN'S ISLAND— As the island braces itself for the loss of more than500 palmetto trees, residents are pleading with Dominion Energy and town officials to bury power lines.

Last month, Dominion identified 523 palmetto trees on the barrier island that are set to be removed because of their proximity to power lines. The number shocked residents. Many of them have trees in their yards that are now on the chopping block.

The looming removal left island residents outraged. Some islanders, like 8-year-old Keegan Novak, moved to take action and called on Dominion Energy to spare the palmettos.

Trees marked for removal are part of the utility's five-year vegetation management. The pruning often leaves community members unsatisfied with the state of the town's tree canopy, sometimes prompting legal action.

This was the case on James Island, where the town sued Dominionfor improper tree cutting in 2021.

Dominion claims safety is a focal point for the decision.Bill Turner, the company's general manager of electric distribution operations, told council on May 21thattrimming the trees protects the nearly 16 miles of overhead power lines on Sullivan's Island, decreasing the chance of downed lines and power outages.

In 2019, the trimming drew similar ire from locals, who urged the town to look into burying the power lines instead.

Karen Byko, president of Sullivan's Island for All, was the first of many residents to plead again this month for underground lines.

“As I see it, the question isn’t how can we afford to bury our power lines, it’s how can we afford not to,” Byko said.

Turner said burying power lines is a complicated— and expensive— undertaking. Constructing a system of underground lines can cost up to 10 times more than building overhead lines, he said.

A rough preliminary estimate from Danny Kassis, Dominion's general manager of new business and customer solutions, put a cost of burying the power lines on Sullivan's Island at $60 million.

There are funding mechanisms in place to help pay for burying or diverting power lines. The nonstandard service fund consists of a percentage of a town's franchise fee with Dominion. As of 2022, Sullivan's Island had just shy of $180,000.

"That's not a huge number compared to what it would cost," Kassis said.

Still, parts of the island, areas along Jasper Boulevard and near Fort Moultrie, already have power lines buried. These lines were buried in 2004 and 2010 by SCE&G because of system overloads, Turner said, rather than tree-trimming concerns.

But in recent years, other nearby communities have moved to bury power lines for the sake of preserving trees.

'It can be done'

In 2021, the city of Charleston adopted an ordinance intended to make it easier for residents to access funds to bury power lines and protect the city's tree canopy.

Meanwhile, in Mount Pleasant, Dominion is working with the town to place underground power lines along Mathis Ferry Road, which will allow live oaks that line the road to "grow full canopies without the negative impact of tree trimming maintenance," according to the project page on the town's website.

Burying lines is a "very difficult, very expensive and time-consuming process," Mount Pleasant Town Arborist Eddie Bernard said, but it can be done.

On Coleman Boulevard, Bernard said the utility redirected power lines that were above a row of palmettos, which saved roughly 20 trees from removal.

He said the town also is considering burying lines in neighborhoods that were unhappy with Dominion's most recent cycle of tree trimming.

"Many of those homeowners in there are saying that they would gladly pay to put the lines on the grounds to avoid what's happening," Bernard said.

On Sullivan's Island, removal is slated to begin May 28, but some trees may be spared.

Town Administrator Joe Henderson told council on May 21 that staff is reviewing each tree tabbed for removal with representatives from Dominion and the S.C. Department of Transportation to hopefully reduce the number that will be cutflush to the ground, leaving behind only a stump.

"We were able to negotiate with (Dominion) the ability to sector out the town and go area by area with DOT officials and Dominion officials to identify all these palmetto trees, identify the highest hazard trees and those that might not be as high hazard, and see if there are any opportunities for mitigating those,” Henderson said.