[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 678 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.678
One Hundred Thirteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and thirteen
An Act
To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower
development under Federal Reclamation law, and for other purposes.
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 ``Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit
Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION.
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) 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, 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 conduit.--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) Transferred conduit.--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) Small conduit hydropower.--The term `small
conduit hydropower' means a facility capable of producing 5
megawatts or less of electric capacity.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.