[Senate Report 104-162]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 212
104th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 1st Session                                                    104-162
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           CONSTRUCTION TIME OF FERC LICENSED HYDRO PROJECTS

                                _______


 October 19 (legislative day, October 18), 1995.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1012]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1012) to extend the time for construction 
of certain FERC licensed hydro projects, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                         Purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S. 1012 is to extend the deadline contained 
in the Federal Power Act for the commencement of construction 
of two FERC-licensed hydroelectric projects located in the 
State of New York.

                          background and need

    Section 13 of the Federal Power Act requires a licensee to 
commence the construction of a hydroelectric project within two 
years of the date of the issuance of the license. That deadline 
can be extended by the FERC one time for as much as two 
additional years. If construction has not commenced at the end 
of the time period, the license is terminated by the FERC. 
Thus, in the absence of this legislation, the FERC would 
terminate the license at the end of the time period authorized 
under the Federal Power Act for commencement of construction.
    S. 1012 would extend the time required to begin 
construction of hydroelectric projects numbered 4244 and 10648 
for three two-year periods.

                          legislative history

    S. 1012 was introduced by Senator D'Amato on June 30, 1995. 
A hearing was held on September 14, 1995.

            committee recommendation and tabulation of votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on October 11, 1995, by a unanimous vote 
with a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass the bill 
as described herein. The rollcall vote on reporting the measure 
was 20 yeas, 0 nays, as follows:
        Yeas                          Nays
Mr. Murkowski
Mr. Hatfield \1\
Mr. Domenici
Mr. Nickles
Mr. Craig
Mr. Campbell
Mr. Thomas
Mr. Kyl
Mr. Grams
Mr. Jeffords \1\
Mr. Burns
Mr. Johnston
Mr. Bumpers \1\
Mr. Ford
Mr. Bradley \1\
Mr. Bingaman \1\
Mr. Akaka
Mr. Wellstone
Mr. Heflin
Mr. Dorgan \1\

    \1\ Indicates vote by proxy.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, October 13, 1995.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed S. 1012, a bill to extend the time for construction of 
certain FERC licensed hydro projects, as ordered reported by 
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on October 
11, 1995. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would have no 
net effect on the federal budget.
    The bill would extend the deadline for construction of two 
hydroelectric projects currently subject to licensing by the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC]. This provision may 
have a minor impact on FERC's workload. Because FERC recovers 
100 percent of its costs through user fees, any change in its 
administrative costs would be offset by an equal change in the 
fees that the commission charges. Hence, the bill's provisions 
would have no net budgetary impact.
    Because FERC's administrative costs are limited in annual 
appropriations, enactment of this bill would not affect direct 
spending or receipts. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
not apply to the bill. In addition, CBO estimates that enacting 
the bill would have no significant impact on the budgets of 
state or local governments.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kim Cawley.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

                      regulatory impact evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out this measure.
    The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of 
imposing Government-established standards or significant 
economic responsibilities on private individuals and 
businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the provisions of the bill. Therefore, there would be no impact 
on personal privacy.
    Little, if any additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of this measure.

                        executive communications

    The pertinent communications received by the Committee from 
the Federal Energy Regulator Commission setting forth Executive 
agency relating to this measure are set forth below:

   Statement of Elizabeth A. Moler, Chair, Federal Energy Regulatory 
                               Commission

    Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to comment on S. 1012, a bill that would extend 
the statutory deadline for the start of construction of two 
hydroelectric projects licensed by the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission.


          extending deadlines to commence project construction


    Section 13 of the Federal Power Act requires that 
construction of a licensed project be commenced within two 
years of issuance of the license. Section 13 authorizes the 
Commission to extend this deadline once, for a maximum 
additional two years. If project construction has not commenced 
by this deadline, Section 13 requires the Commission to 
terminate the license.
    Both of the projects in question have received the maximum 
four years for commencement of construction. S. 1012 would 
authorize the Commission to extend the deadline for both 
projects by an additional six years, for a total of ten years.
    As a general principle, I do not support the enactment of 
bills authorizing or requiring construction extensions for 
individual projects. However, if such extensions are to be 
authorized, as a matter of policy I have objected to such 
extensions only where they would grant a licensee more than ten 
years from the issuance date of the license to commence 
construction. S. 1012 does not go beyond this ten-year point. 
Accordingly, I do not have specific objections to the proposed 
legislation. Attached to my testimony are detailed comments 
about the bill and the projects they concern.


                               conclusion


    This concludes my prepared remarks. The Commission staff is 
available to answer any question you may have. Thank you.


              appendix to testimony of elizabeth a. moler


S. 1012 (Sen. D'Amato)
    S. 1012 would authorize the Commission to extend for up to 
six years (10 years after licensing) the deadline for 
commencement of construction of Project Nos. 4244 and 10648.
Project No. 4244
    On January 17, 1992, the Commission issued a license to 
Long Lake Energy Corporation to construct and operate the 9.7 
megawatt Northumberland Hydro Project at an existing New York 
State dam on the Hudson River, in Saratoga and Washington 
Counties, New York. In 1992, the Commission approved the 
transfer of the project license to NHP, L.P. The deadline for 
commencement of construction, originally January 16, 1994, was 
extended to January 16, 1996, because the licensee had not 
obtained a power sales contract.
    Construction entails adding flashboards to be existing dam, 
a powerhouse, headrace, tailrace, and related project 
facilities.
Project No. 10648
    On June 9, 1993, the Commission issued a license to 
Adirondack Hydro Development Corporation and McGrath 
Industries, Inc. to construct and operate the 10.2 megawatt 
Waterford Project at an existing New York State dam on the 
Hudson River, in Saratoga and Rensselear Counties, New York. 
The deadline for commencement of construction, originally June 
9, 1995, was extended to June 9, 1997, because the licensee had 
not obtained a power sales contract.
    Construction entails adding a powerhouse, a 164-foot-long 
intake channel, a 1.9-mile-long transmission line, and related 
project facilities.

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by S. 1012, as order reported.