113 S306 RS: Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act
U.S. Senate
2013-02-13
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the Bureau
of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs
Act
.
2.Section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act
of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)) is amended—
(1)by striking The Secretary is
authorized to enter into contracts to furnish water
and inserting the
following:
(1)The Secretary is authorized to enter into
contracts to furnish
water
;
(2)by striking
(1) shall
and inserting (A) shall
;
(3)by striking
(2) shall
and inserting (B) shall
;
(4)by striking
respecting the terms of sales of electric power and leases of power
privileges shall be in addition and alternative to any authority in existing
laws relating to particular projects
and inserting respecting
the sales of electric power and leases of power privileges shall be an
authorization in addition to and alternative to any authority in existing laws
related to particular projects, including small conduit hydropower
development
; and
(5)by adding at the
end the following:
(2)When carrying out this subsection, the
Secretary shall first offer the lease of power privilege to an irrigation
district or water users association operating the applicable transferred work,
or to the irrigation district or water users association receiving water from
the applicable reserved work. The Secretary shall determine a reasonable time
frame for the irrigation district or water users association to accept or
reject a lease of power privilege offer.
(3)The National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall not apply to small conduit hydropower
development, excluding siting of associated transmission on Federal lands,
under this subsection.
(4)The Power Resources Office of the Bureau of
Reclamation shall be the lead office of small conduit hydropower activities
conducted under this subsection.
(5)Nothing in this
subsection shall obligate the Western Area Power Administration, the Bonneville
Power Administration, or the Southwestern Power Administration to purchase or
market any of the power produced by the facilities covered under this
subsection and none of the costs associated with production or delivery of such
power shall be assigned to project purposes for inclusion in project
rates.
(6)Nothing in this subsection shall alter or
impede the delivery and management of water by Bureau of Reclamation
facilities, as water used for conduit hydropower generation shall be deemed
incidental to use of water for the original project purposes. Lease of power
privilege shall be made only when, in the judgment of the Secretary, the
exercise of the lease will not be incompatible with the purposes of the project
or division involved, nor shall it create any unmitigated financial or physical
impacts to the project or division involved, and shall be on such terms and
conditions as in the judgment of the Secretary in consultation with the
appropriate irrigation district or water users association, will adequately
protect the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and other
interests of the United States and the project or division involved.
(7)Nothing in this
subsection shall alter or affect any existing agreements for the development of
conduit hydropower projects or disposition of revenues.
(8)In this
subsection:
(A)The term conduit means any
Bureau of Reclamation tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or
similar manmade water conveyance that is operated for the distribution of water
for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for
the generation of electricity.
(B)The term irrigation district means any
irrigation, water conservation, multicounty water conservation district, or any
separate public entity composed of two or more such districts and jointly
exercising powers of its member districts.
(C)The term reserved work means any conduit that
is included in project works the care, operation, and maintenance of which has
been reserved by the Secretary, through the Commissioner of the Bureau of
Reclamation.
(D)The term transferred work means any conduit
that is included in project works the care, operation, and maintenance of which
has been transferred to a legally organized water users association or
irrigation district.
(E)The term
small conduit hydropower means a facility capable of producing 5
megawatts or less of electric
capacity.
.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit
Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act
.
2.Section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act
of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)) is amended—
(1)by striking The
Secretary is authorized to enter into contracts to furnish water
and
inserting the following:
(1)The Secretary is
authorized to enter into contracts to furnish
water
;
(2)by striking (1)
shall
and inserting (A) shall
;
(3)by striking (2)
shall
and inserting (B) shall
;
(4)by striking
respecting the terms of sales of electric power and leases of power
privileges shall be in addition and alternative to any authority in existing
laws relating to particular projects
and inserting respecting
the sales of electric power and leases of power privileges shall be an
authorization in addition to and alternative to any authority in existing laws
related to particular projects, including small conduit hydropower
development
; and
(5)by adding at the end the
following:
(2)(A)When carrying out this
subsection, the Secretary shall first offer the lease of power privilege to an
irrigation district or water users association operating the applicable
transferred conduit, or to the irrigation district or water users association
receiving water from the applicable reserved conduit. The Secretary shall
determine a reasonable time frame for the irrigation district or water users
association to accept or reject a lease of power privilege offer for a small
conduit hydropower project.
(B)If the irrigation
district or water users association elects not accept a lease of power
privilege offer under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall offer the lease of
power privilege to other parties in accordance with this subsection.
(3)The Bureau of Reclamation
shall apply its categorical exclusion process under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to small conduit hydropower
development under this subsection, excluding siting of associated transmission
facilities on Federal lands.
(4)The Power Resources
Office of the Bureau of Reclamation shall be the lead office of small conduit
hydropower policy and procedure-setting activities conducted under this
subsection.
(5)Nothing in this
subsection shall obligate the Western Area Power Administration, the Bonneville
Power Administration, or the Southwestern Power Administration to purchase or
market any of the power produced by the facilities covered under this
subsection and none of the costs associated with production or delivery of such
power shall be assigned to project purposes for inclusion in project
rates.
(6)Nothing in this
subsection shall alter or impede the delivery and management of water by Bureau
of Reclamation facilities, as water used for conduit hydropower generation
shall be deemed incidental to use of water for the original project purposes.
Lease of power privilege shall be made only when, in the judgment of the
Secretary, the exercise of the lease will not be incompatible with the purposes
of the project or division involved, nor shall it create any unmitigated
financial or physical impacts to the project or division involved. The
Secretary shall notify and consult with the irrigation district or water users
association operating the transferred conduit before offering the lease of
power privilege and shall prescribe terms and conditions that will adequately
protect the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and other
interests of the United States and the project or division involved.
(7)Nothing in this
subsection shall alter or affect any existing agreements for the development of
conduit hydropower projects or disposition of revenues.
(8)Nothing in this
subsection shall alter or affect any existing preliminary permit, license, or
exemption issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under Part I of
the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.) or any project for which an
application has been filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as of
the date of the enactment of the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower
Development and Rural Jobs Act.
(9)In this
subsection:
(A)The
term conduit means any Bureau of Reclamation tunnel, canal,
pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance that is
operated for the distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or
industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of
electricity.
(B)The term irrigation district means any
irrigation, water conservation or conservancy, multicounty water conservation
or conservancy district, or any separate public entity composed of two or more
such districts and jointly exercising powers of its member districts.
(C)The term reserved conduit means any conduit
that is included in project works the care, operation, and maintenance of which
has been reserved by the Secretary, through the Commissioner of the Bureau of
Reclamation.
(D)The term transferred conduit means any
conduit that is included in project works the care, operation, and maintenance
of which has been transferred to a legally organized water users association or
irrigation district.
(E)The term small conduit hydropower means a
facility capable of producing 5 megawatts or less of electric
capacity.
.
May 13, 2013
Reported with an amendment