[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 99 (Monday, June 12, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4828-H4829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HYDROPOWER PERMIT EXTENSION ACT

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 2274) to amend the Federal Power Act to provide for extended 
periods relating to preliminary permits and commencement of 
construction, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.

[[Page H4829]]

  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2274

       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 ``HYdropower Permit Extension 
     Act'' or the ``HYPE Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSIONS OF PERIODS.

       (a) Preliminary Permits.--Section 5 of the Federal Power 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 798) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``three'' and inserting 
     ``four''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by striking ``Commission may extend the period of a 
     preliminary permit once for not more than 2 additional years 
     beyond the 3 years'' and inserting the following: 
     ``Commission may--
       ``(1) extend the period of a preliminary permit once for 
     not more than four additional years beyond the four years'';
       (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) if the period of a preliminary permit is extended 
     under paragraph (1), extend the period of such preliminary 
     permit once for not more than four additional years beyond 
     the extension period granted under paragraph (1), if the 
     Commission determines that there are extraordinary 
     circumstances that warrant such additional extension.''.
       (b) Time Limit for Construction of Project Works.--Section 
     13 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 806) is amended in the 
     second sentence by striking ``once but not longer than two 
     additional years'' and inserting ``for not more than eight 
     additional years,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Upton) and the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill, H.R. 2274, was introduced by the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Peters), and it was passed by unanimous consent by 
the Energy and Commerce Committee.
  The bill, H.R. 2274, amends the Federal Power Act to allow the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, to extend periods relating 
to preliminary permits and commencement of construction of 
hydroelectric projects.
  This bill is a commonsense bill, bipartisan, and I would hope that 
all Members would join me in supporting it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2274, the HYdropower Permit 
Extension, or HYPE, Act.
  I am pleased that the House is considering this legislation, which 
was recently introduced by my colleague, Mr. Peters, of the committee, 
to provide the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with the authority 
to grant longer periods for preliminary and construction permits and 
associated extensions under sections 5 and 13 of the Federal Power Act.
  Right now, as we have seen from the debating of these six bills 
today, this is something that can only be done by an act of Congress on 
a case-by-case basis.

                              {time}  1615

  As much as we have all enjoyed debating these extensions of time 
today, it is clear that it would be more efficient and it also would 
save more time in Congress if these extensions could be done directly 
by FERC. I commend Mr. Peters. I hope all of my colleagues will join me 
in supporting this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Peters), the author of the bill.
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, hydropower is one of the few carbon-free 
energy sources that provides a steady baseload of electricity. 
Producing more electricity from hydropower helps us meet our clean 
energy goals and reduce harmful emissions that pollute our air and 
water.
  This bill, the Hydropower Permit Extension Act, would cut red tape 
for hydropower construction permits and incentivize greater investment 
in this energy source.
  The act gives already approved hydropower projects an extra year on 
their initial permit and allows FERC to grant a 4-year extension to 
projects that are delayed from breaking ground during their initial 
permit.
  And as the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette) said, right now 
this takes an act of Congress to extend construction permits for 
hydropower projects, even though they have gone through a rigorous 
environmental regulatory process.
  Moving forward, the ultimate solution to unlocking hydropower is to 
streamline the regulatory process. It is my hope that we can continue 
to have bipartisan, productive conversations like these on how to get 
hydropower projects moving, how to get them approved more quickly, 
while still meeting high environmental standards.
  I want to thank Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone, Chairman 
Upton and Ranking Member Rush, for working with me and the committee to 
advance this bill through the committee and to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to vote for this 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I would do the same, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2274.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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