I 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6244 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES August 1, 2012 Mrs. Hartzler (for herself, Mr. Graves of Missouri, Ms. Jenkins, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Cole, Mr. Akin, and Mr. Shimkus) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Federal Power Act to permit States to prohibit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from enforcing certain requirements of a license, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Leave our Lakes Alone Act.

2.

State determination to exempt projects from certain requirements of a FERC license

Section 4 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 797) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (h)(1)For the purposes of this subsection— (A)the term exempt State means a State for which a State law is in effect that expressly authorizes paragraph (2) to apply to projects within the State; and (B)the term public use and environmental purposes means the purposes of energy conservation, the protection, mitigation of damage to, and enhancement of, fish and wildlife (including related spawning grounds and habitat), the protection of recreational opportunities, the preservation of other aspects of environmental quality, and other beneficial public uses, including irrigation, flood control, water supply, and other purposes, as required under subsection (e) and section 10(a), as such purposes apply to land within the project boundary that is above the highest target elevation for normal operations of the project. (2)Notwithstanding subsection (e) and sections 10(a) and 28, the Commission— (A)may not consider public use and environmental purposes in issuing a license for a project in an exempt State; and (B)may not enforce the requirements of a license regarding public use and environmental purposes for a project in an exempt State. (3)If a State law described in paragraph (1)(A) is no longer in effect, paragraph (2) shall continue to apply to any project in the State for which a license is issued before the date on which such law ceases to be in effect. (4)Paragraph (2) shall not apply to any project or portion of a project on Federal land. .