[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.