CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — The City of Charleston and Dominion Energy have begun removing nearly 200 palmetto trees near power lines, with the city committing to plant five new trees for each one removed.

Dominion crews started the removals in the Eastside neighborhood as part of a partnership called “Right Tree, Right Place.”

The initiative targets palmetto trees specifically because they cannot be cut or pruned. Once they reach 15 feet, they can pose a hazard to electrical lines, according to city officials.

City commits to expanding tree canopy

For every palmetto removed, Charleston said it will plant five new trees elsewhere in the city. The goal is to reduce risk while growing the city’s overall tree canopy.

“Our urban forestry team works hand-in-hand to figure out, ‘is pruning appropriate or is there a removal measure that might need to be taken?’” Mika Gadsden, the City of Charleston’s director of sustainability, said. “Those decisions don’t happen lightly… and we don’t want to stoke fear. We just think that being proactive, we think that some preventative measures will help save folks a lot of distress and a lot of inconvenience.”

Gadsden said the partnership shows the city does not have to sacrifice one priority for another.

“We are fortunate enough to have an amazing Urban Forestry Team that helps us guide those decisions and work hand-in-hand with our residents, whether that be individual homeowners or neighborhood associations,” Gadsden said. “Dominion has been a strategic partner in helping us plant the right tree in the right place.”

Trees considered leading cause of outages

According to Dominion Energy spokesman Paul Fischer, trees are the number one cause of power outages across the system.

The removals come as South Carolina enters Hurricane Preparedness Month in May. City and Dominion officials said the initiative is about getting ahead of the next storm and continuing to work on sustainability in the area.