We the people of Vashon-Maury island, call on PSE, a private multinational company, to address negative business practices impacting our community and environment. In addition, we call on those responsible for oversight of corporations - such as the Utilities Trade Commission (UTC) and the Attorney General’s office (AGO) to assist us in our capacity to steward our island home and protect our property, civil and human rights. Effective oversight of mega corporations that are monopolies such as PSE- that supply the necessities of our life -is particularly vital for health and wellbeing of our community and homes. Protection of our property rights is foundational to our ability to protect our island. In particular, we call out the following negative practices:

1/ negative impact on the tree population. For example, ‘topping trees’ of significant standing (e.g. trees with decades of growth (over 100?) such as 120ft tall Douglas Firs and reducing them to 1/5th of their size (this has occurred on 115th Ave SW and Bank Rd). These tree toppings are just examples of common occurrences). The topping of these trees results in increasing the required tree maintenance for lines by subcontractors such as Asplundh (and the associated costs for utility supply, with cost increases ultimately passed on to consumers). Topped trees thicken tree growth at the point of topping (increasing the tree growth at the level of the line)– rather than pruning a tree back at line height to encourage its upward growth past the level of the line.

2/ negative impact on our water supply and water shed. Eg placing and maintaining utility poles treated with contaminants in our water ditches that carry contaminants into our watershed and marine environment. Commit to an intention to remove poles out of our water ditches/in close proximity to our water ditches rather than a strategy that extends the lives of poles in or close to our water ditches.

3/ negative impact on our public safety. Eg poles in water ditches or close proximity to them carry an increase risk of instability, falling, rotting.

4/ practices disregarding peoples private property rights. Eg. on 115th Ave SW the radical topping/vandalism by PSE contractors occurred over a fence line, on private property, without notice, while owners of the property were away.

5/ practices by a mega corporation with seemingly unlimited power to aggressively push/’railroad’ through foundational changes to people’s ownership of their land Eg. No notice of a real estate acquisition firm being engaged by PSE to ‘buy up’ access to private property rights that push owners, with ‘bullying’ practices (‘your neighbors have signed this, sign now’), and no education/information and/or access to free legal advice and advocacy (a necessity for just transaction) into signing over their property rights through ‘easements’ to private corporations which practically have little or no oversight-a necessity to ensure the people’s basic rights are protected. These practices are particularly detrimental to the disadvantaged, elderly, disabled, and those with less access to, or ability to access, information and justice.

6/ negative strategies of placing poles in areas of established tree populations with a long term outcome of negative impact on the life and wellbeing of our tree population and our island home - requiring the radical topping or pruning of our trees. This practice should be replaced with thoughtful placement of poles that put trees, people and environment first- before thoughtless, perhaps expedient choices that appear to be less expensive in the short term to a corporation – but has the opposite effect of creating costly outcomes in dollars, environment and for people’s basic rights in the long term. These costs (and economic externalities ) always end up being borne by the peoples in the long term, including the future generations

7/ UTC and AGO minimizing their oversight function so as to deny the people’s access to basic rights such as access to reasonably priced utilities that serve the interests of the peoples and our environment, rather than the interests of corporations (especially corporations with a monopoly where consumers have no choice) – disproportionately affecting marginalized and disadvantaged peoples and communities and denying them the protection and justice they deserve

8/ Poor business practices, ballooning of costs, long term negative economic impact always passed on to the consumer now and the consumers that follow in the generations to come. Recognition that a poorly managed company or a private company with no transparency in its practices passes on the costs of doing business in an economically detrimental way to the consumer in the long term – always. This affects our island home now and generationally into the future (eg what is the relationship between PSE and its contractor Asplundh? Public good may not be the highest priority.)

9/ Promotion of healthier long term practices for the greater good (truly good business) such as Strategic undergrounding, position of non-contaminant treated poles in well drained areas, positioning of poles in 'tree positive' positions.