[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1963 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 518
113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1963

                          [Report No. 113-231]


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 9, 2013

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

                             July 31, 2014

              Reported by Ms. Landrieu, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To amend the Water Conservation and Utilization Act to authorize the 
 development of non-Federal hydropower and issuance of leases of power 
  privileges at projects constructed pursuant to the authority of the 
    Water Conservation and Utilization Act, and for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Bureau of Reclamation 
Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 9 of the Act entitled ``An Act authorizing 
construction of water conservation and utilization projects in the 
Great Plains and arid semiarid areas of the United States'', approved 
August 11, 1939 (16 U.S.C. 590z-7; commonly known as the ``Water 
Conservation and Utilization Act''), is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking ``In connection with'' and 
        inserting ``(a) In connection with''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary is 
authorized to enter into leases of power privileges for electric power 
generation in connection with any project constructed under this Act, 
and shall have authority in addition to and alternative to any 
authority in existing laws relating to particular projects, including 
small conduit hydropower development.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) When entering into leases of power privileges under 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall use the processes applicable to 
such leases under section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 
(43 U.S.C. 485h(c)).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Lease of power privilege contracts shall be at such 
rates as, in the Secretary's judgment, will produce revenues at least 
sufficient to cover the appropriate share of the annual operation and 
maintenance cost of the project and such fixed charges, including 
interest, as the Secretary deems proper. Lease of power privilege 
contracts shall be for periods not to exceed 40 years.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) No findings under section 3 shall be required for a 
lease under subsection (b).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(f) All right, title, and interest to installed power 
facilities constructed by non-Federal entities pursuant to a lease of 
power privilege, and direct revenues derived therefrom, shall remain 
with the lessee unless otherwise required under subsection 
(g).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(g) Notwithstanding section 8, lease revenues and fixed 
charges, if any, shall be covered into the Reclamation Fund to be 
credited to the project from which those revenues or charges were 
derived.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(h) When carrying out this section, 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 timeframe for the irrigation district or water 
users association to accept or reject a lease of power privilege offer. 
If the irrigation district or water users association elects not to 
accept a lease of power privilege offer under subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall offer the lease of power privilege to other parties 
using the processes applicable to such leases under section 9(c) of the 
Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(i) 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 section, excluding siting of associated 
transmission facilities on Federal lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(j) Nothing in this section shall obligate the Western 
Area Power Administration or the Bonneville Power Administration to 
purchase or market any of the power produced by the facilities covered 
under this section and none of the costs associated with production or 
delivery of such power shall be assigned to project purposes for 
inclusion in project rates.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(k) Nothing in this section 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 and shall not 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 conduit in advance of offering the lease of power privilege 
and shall prescribe such terms and conditions necessary to adequately 
protect the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and 
other interests of the United States and the project or division 
involved.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(l) Nothing in this section shall alter or affect any 
agreements in effect on the date of the enactment of the Bureau of 
Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act for the 
development of conduit hydropower projects or disposition of 
revenues.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(m) In this section:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) 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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) The term `irrigation district' means any 
        irrigation, water conservation or conservancy, multi-county 
        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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) 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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) 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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) The term `small conduit hydropower' means a 
        facility capable of producing 5 megawatts or less of electric 
        capacity.''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bureau of Reclamation Hydropower 
Development Equity and Jobs Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.

    Section 9 of the Act of August 11, 1939 (commonly known as the 
``Water Conservation and Utilization Act'') (16 U.S.C. 590z-7) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``In connection with'' and inserting ``(a) 
        In General.--In connection with''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Certain Leases Authorized.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), the 
        Secretary--
                    ``(A) may enter into leases of power privileges for 
                electric power generation in connection with any 
                project constructed pursuant to this Act; and
                    ``(B) shall have authority over any project 
                constructed pursuant to this Act in addition to and 
                alternative to any existing authority relating to a 
                particular project.
            ``(2) Process.--In entering into a lease of power 
        privileges under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use the 
        processes, terms, and conditions applicable to the lease under 
        section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 
        485h(c)).
            ``(3) Findings not required.--No findings under section 3 
        shall be required for a lease under paragraph (1).
            ``(4) Rights retained by lessee.--Except as otherwise 
        provided under paragraph (5), all right, title, and interest in 
        and to installed power facilities constructed by non-Federal 
        entities pursuant to a lease under paragraph (1), and any 
        direct revenues derived from that lease, shall remain with the 
        lessee.
            ``(5) Lease charges.--Notwithstanding section 8, lease 
        charges shall be credited to the project from which the power 
        is derived.
            ``(6) Effect.--Nothing in this section alters or affects 
        any agreement in effect on the date of enactment of the Bureau 
        of Reclamation Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act for 
        the development of hydropower projects or disposition of 
        revenues.''.
                                                       Calendar No. 518

113th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1963

                          [Report No. 113-231]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To amend the Water Conservation and Utilization Act to authorize the 
 development of non-Federal hydropower and issuance of leases of power 
  privileges at projects constructed pursuant to the authority of the 
    Water Conservation and Utilization Act, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             July 31, 2014

                       Reported with an amendment