[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 EXTENDING DEADLINE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT NUMBERED 
                                 12715

  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4416) to extend the deadline for commencement of 
construction of a hydroelectric project.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4416

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

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the time period specified 
     in section 13 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 806) that 
     would otherwise apply to the Federal Energy Regulatory 
     Commission project numbered 12715, the Commission may, at the 
     request of the licensee for the project, and after reasonable 
     notice, in accordance with the good faith, due diligence, and 
     public interest requirements of that section and the 
     Commission's procedures under that section, extend the time 
     period during which the licensee is required to commence the 
     construction of the project for up to 3 consecutive 2-year 
     periods from the date of the expiration of the extension 
     originally issued by the Commission. Any obligation of the 
     licensee for the payment of annual charges under section 
     10(e) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803(e)) shall 
     commence upon conclusion of the time period to commence 
     construction of the project, as extended by the Commission 
     under this subsection.
       (b) Reinstatement of Expired License.--If the period 
     required for commencement of construction of the project 
     described in subsection (a) has expired prior to the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall reinstate the 
     license effective as of the date of its expiration and the 
     first extension authorized under subsection (a) shall take 
     effect on the date of such expiration.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Kennedy) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WHITFIELD. 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 materials in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to give a special thanks to the gentleman from 
West Virginia (Mr. McKinley) for his work on this legislation.
  Like the other three before, this relates to a hydropower project, 
this one located at the Jennings Randolph Dam in West Virginia. Like 
the other cases, after granting a license to commence construction of 
this project, FERC issued an order terminating the project license as a 
result of continued delays by the project applicant and other agencies.
  This legislation simply requires FERC to reinstate the license and 
extend the start time for construction of the Jennings Randolph Dam in 
West Virginia for 6 years.
  I urge the passage of this legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation was reported unanimously by the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce. I know of no objections to the bill. 
I commend my colleague, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. 
McKinley), for bringing it to the floor.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4416.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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