[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 678 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 678
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 15, 2013
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
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.''.
Passed the House of Representatives April 10, 2013.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.