[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6247 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6247

  To protect the Federal Columbia River Power System, Power Marketing 
  Administration customers, and Bureau of Reclamation dams and other 
 facilities and to promote new Federal and other hydropower generation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2012

  Mr. Hastings of Washington introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect the Federal Columbia River Power System, Power Marketing 
  Administration customers, and Bureau of Reclamation dams and other 
 facilities and to promote new Federal and other hydropower generation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Saving Our Dams and New Hydropower 
Development and Jobs Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Bureau of Reclamation conduit hydropower.
Sec. 5. Transparency and reporting.
Sec. 6. Non-Federal contributions to Bureau of Reclamation and Power 
                            Marketing Administration infrastructure.
Sec. 7. Advancing hydropower through new water storage.
Sec. 8. Prohibitin harmful spills at Bureau of Reclamation and other 
                            Federal dams.
Sec. 9. Protecting electricity rights-of-way on Federal lands.
Sec. 10. Federal funding prohibition on Power Marketing Administration 
                            memorandum.
Sec. 11. Federal funding prohibitions on Federal dam removal.
Sec. 12. Federal funding prohibitions on dam removal mitigation.
Sec. 13. Federal funding prohibitions on nongovernmental organizations.
Sec. 14. Departments of the Interior and Commerce conditions and 
                            recommendations.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Hydropower is the most abundant source of clean, 
        renewable energy in the United States.
            (2) All Federal hydropower facilities, including Bureau of 
        Reclamation dams, provide renewable and emissions-free energy 
        to rural and urban communities, accounting for half of the 
        hydroelectricity produced in the Nation.
            (3) Non-Federal hydropower facilities, many of which are 
        located on Federal lands, provide the other half of this clean 
        energy.
            (4) Federal and non-Federal hydropower account for nearly 7 
        percent of the electricity generated in the United States, 
        avoiding approximately 200,000,000 annual metric tons of carbon 
        emissions.
            (5) Existing Federal and non-Federal hydropower facilities 
        are subject to litigation, judicial orders, and regulations 
        that seek to diminish this resource.
            (6) Potential exists to develop new hydropower facilities 
        and jobs related to construction and operation of these 
        facilities.
            (7) It is in the Nation's economic and environmental 
        interest to protect existing hydropower resources and promote 
        new development.

SEC. 4. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION CONDUIT HYDROPOWER.

    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:
            ``(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 timeframe 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 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 legally organized water users 
        association operating the transferred work in advance of 
        offering the lease of power privilege and shall prescribe such 
        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) Revenues derived from the lease of power privilege 
        under this subsection shall be applied as follows:
                    ``(A) First against reimbursable construction costs 
                allocated to power.
                    ``(B) Then for use to repair or rehabilitate the 
                facility from which such power is derived.
                    ``(C) The remainder, after application under 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be used to construct 
                any new storage at the project from which such power is 
                derived. No funding under this subparagraph shall be 
                used for studying new storage.
            ``(9) In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Conduit.--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) Irrigation district.--The term `irrigation 
                district' means any irrigation, water conservation or 
                conservancy district, 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) Reserved work.--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) Transferred work.--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) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the 
                Secretary of the Interior.
                    ``(F) Small conduit hydropower.--The term `small 
                conduit hydropower' means a facility capable of 
                producing 5 megawatts or less of electric capacity.''.

SEC. 5. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING.

    (a) Information Included in Monthly Billing to Power Customers.--
The Administrators of each of the Bonneville Power Administration, the 
Western Area Power Administration, the Southwestern Power 
Administration, and the Southeastern Power Administration shall include 
in monthly billings sent to each of their power customers information 
estimating and reporting the costs of the customer's share of the 
direct and indirect costs incurred by the administration related to 
compliance with any Federal environmental laws impacting the 
conservation of fish and wildlife considered by the Administrator 
concerned, at that Administrator's sole discretion after consultation 
with consumers, to be relevant.
    (b) Direct Costs.--Direct costs reported under this subsection 
shall include Federal agency obligations related to costs of studies; 
capital, operation, maintenance, and replacement costs; and staffing 
costs.
    (c) Indirect Costs.--Indirect costs reported under this subsection 
shall include foregone generation and replacement power costs, 
including the net costs of any transmission.
    (d) Coordination.--The Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation 
and the head of any other affected Federal agency shall assist the 
Administrators with the identification of the costs.
    (e) Report.--No later than January 30 of each year, each of the 
Administrators referred to in subsection (a), in coordination with the 
Bureau of Reclamation and other affected Federal agencies, shall 
provide an annual report to the appropriate committees of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate estimating the total of the direct and 
indirect costs incurred by the administration related to compliance 
with any Federal environmental laws impacting the conservation of fish 
and wildlife, the sources of replacement power, and costs related to 
integrating wind energy resources considered by the Administrator 
concerned, at that Administrator's sole discretion after consultation 
with consumers, to be relevant.

SEC. 6. NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO BUREAU OF RECLAMATION AND POWER 
              MARKETING ADMINISTRATION INFRASTRUCTURE.

    The Act of May 9, 1938 (43 U.S.C. 392a), is amended as follows:
            (1) By striking ``has been made by law or contract'' and 
        all that follows through ``such project:'' and inserting ``is 
        made by law or contract for the use of such revenues to repay 
        funds contributed by users of water or power to benefit such 
        project:''.
            (2) By striking ``General Treasury as `miscellaneous 
        receipts''' and inserting ``reclamation fund, except as 
        otherwise specifically provided by law''.

SEC. 7. ADVANCING HYDROPOWER THROUGH NEW WATER STORAGE.

    The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of 
the Bureau of Reclamation, may hereafter partner or enter into an 
agreement with local joint power authorities formed pursuant to State 
law by irrigation districts and other local water districts and local 
governments, to complete planning and feasibility studies authorized by 
Congress for water storage projects. A project under this section is 
authorized for construction only if no Federal funds are used for 
financing, constructing, or operating the project and if the project, 
when constructed, will produce hydropower.

SEC. 8. PROHIBITING HARMFUL SPILLS AT BUREAU OF RECLAMATION AND OTHER 
              FEDERAL DAMS.

    The Bureau of Reclamation and other Federal agencies shall not 
bypass hydroelectric turbines if a State in which the affected 
facilities has declared a drought emergency or if any Federal agency 
finds that such bypass could result in harming endangered fish by any 
means unless such bypasses are necessary for flood control purposes.

SEC. 9. PROTECTING ELECTRICITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY ON FEDERAL LANDS.

    If an electricity right-of-way holder, including a Power Marketing 
Administration, on Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management lands 
applies to remove insect-infected trees or other hazardous fuels within 
500 feet of the right-of-way, the project or activity is categorically 
excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or 
an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), so long as the project or 
activity is otherwise conducted consistently with agency and 
departmental procedures and the applicable land and resource management 
plan or land-use plan.

SEC. 10. FEDERAL FUNDING PROHIBITION ON POWER MARKETING ADMINISTRATION 
              MEMORANDUM.

    No Federal funds, including funds derived from Power Marketing 
Administration customer revenues, shall be used to implement a new 
program, new project, new activity, or other new action required by or 
proposed in the memorandum from Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, to the 
Power Marketing Administrators with the subject line ``Power Marketing 
Administrations' Role'' and dated March 16, 2012, until--
            (1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources of the Senate receive a report containing a legal 
        analysis performed by the appropriate Federal agency that 
        justifies the existing and proposed statutory authorities 
        necessary to implement every program, project, activity, and 
        other action required or proposed by the memorandum; and
            (2) the authority for the program, project, activity, or 
        other action to be so funded has been authorized--
                    (A) as documented in the report required under 
                paragraph (1); or
                    (B) by a Federal law enacted after the issuance of 
                that report.

SEC. 11. FEDERAL FUNDING PROHIBITIONS ON FEDERAL DAM REMOVAL.

    Federal funding shall not be used to remove, partially remove, or 
breach, or study the removal, partial removal, or breaching of any 
Federal or non-Federal hydroelectric-producing dam unless explicitly 
authorized by Congress.

SEC. 12. FEDERAL FUNDING PROHIBITIONS ON DAM REMOVAL MITIGATION.

    Federal funding or funding from congressionally chartered 
organizations that provide grants impacting Federal land and fish and 
wildlife shall not be used for mitigation activities carried out by 
Federal or non-Federal entities related to hydroelectric-producing dam 
removal unless explicitly authorized by Congress.

SEC. 13. FEDERAL FUNDING PROHIBITIONS ON NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) Prohibition on Funding.--Federal agencies or congressionally 
chartered organizations that provide grants impacting Federal land and 
fish and wildlife shall not fund any nongovernmental organization that 
is involved in or that was involved in certain litigation at any time 
during the 10 years immediately before the funding would otherwise be 
provided.
    (b) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section--
            (1) the term ``certain litigation'' means litigation 
        against the Federal Government that requests, urges, or 
        otherwise attempts or if successful would result in 
        hydroelectric producing dam removal, partial removal, 
        breaching, or reoperation that would negatively impact the 
        generation of hydropower; and
            (2) the term ``involved in'' includes a party to 
        litigation, a person on behalf of whom litigation is initiated, 
        settled, or otherwise instigated, and an attorney or law firm 
        to whom or on behalf of whom attorneys fees will be paid as a 
        result of the litigation.

SEC. 14. DEPARTMENTS OF THE INTERIOR AND COMMERCE CONDITIONS AND 
              RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Energy Regulatory Commission.
            (2) Condition.--The term ``condition'' means--
                    (A) a condition to a license for a project on a 
                reservation deemed necessary by a consulting agency for 
                the purpose of the first proviso of section 4(e) of the 
                Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 797(e)); or
                    (B) a requirement relating to the construction, 
                maintenance, or operation of a fishway prescribed by a 
                consulting agency for the purpose of the first sentence 
                of section 18 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 811).
            (3) Consulting agency.--The term ``consulting agency'' 
        means--
                    (A) in relation to a condition described in 
                paragraph (2)(A), the Federal agency with 
                responsibility for supervising the reservation; and
                    (B) in relation to a requirement described in 
                paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary of the Interior or the 
                Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate.
            (4) Proposed license applicant.--The term ``proposed 
        license applicant'' means a person, State, or municipality that 
        is engaging in activities in preparation for filing an 
        application for a license under section 4 of the Federal Power 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 797).
            (5) Reservation.--The term ``reservation'' has the meaning 
        given the term ``reservations'' in section 3 of the Federal 
        Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
            (6) Person; state; municipality.--The terms ``person'', 
        ``State'', and ``municipality'' have the meanings given those 
        terms in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
    (b) Submission of Recommendations Prior to Filing of Application.--
If a consulting agency makes any recommendation to a proposed license 
applicant prior to such license applicant filing a license application 
under part I of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.) with the 
Commission, the consulting agency shall submit such recommendation to 
the Commission not later than 30 days after making such recommendation.
    (c) Factors To Be Considered.--
            (1) In general.--In deeming necessary or prescribing a 
        condition, a consulting agency shall take into consideration--
                    (A) the impacts of the condition on--
                            (i) the cost of the project;
                            (ii) electric generation capacity and 
                        system reliability;
                            (iii) air quality (including consideration 
                        of the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions); 
                        and
                            (iv) drinking water supply, flood control, 
                        irrigation, navigation, and recreational water 
                        supply; and
                    (B) compatibility with other conditions to be 
                included in the license, including mandatory conditions 
                of other agencies, if available.
            (2) Documentation.--
                    (A) In general.--In the course of the consideration 
                of factors under paragraph (1), a consulting agency 
                shall create written documentation detailing, among 
                other pertinent matters, all proposals made, comments 
                received, facts considered, and analyses made regarding 
                each of those factors sufficient to demonstrate that 
                each of the factors was given full consideration in 
                deeming necessary or prescribing the condition to be 
                submitted to the Commission.
                    (B) Submission to the commission.--A consulting 
                agency shall include the documentation created under 
                subparagraph (A) in its submission of a condition to 
                the Commission.
    (d) Relationship to Impacts on Reservation.--In the case of a 
condition deemed necessary by a consulting agency for the purpose of 
the first proviso of section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
797(e)), if the Commission determines such condition is not directly 
and reasonably related to the impacts of the project within the 
reservation, such condition shall not be included in any license issued 
by the Commission.
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