[House Report 108-525]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-525

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 AMENDING PUBLIC LAW 99-338 TO AUTHORIZE THE CONTINUED USE OF CERTAIN 
   LANDS WITHIN THE SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK BY PORTIONS OF AN EXISTING 
                         HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT

                                _______
                                

  June 4, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3932]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3932) to amend Public Law 99-338 to authorize the 
continued use of certain lands within the Sequoia National Park 
by portions of an existing hydroelectric project, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
  The amendments are as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION TO REISSUE PERMIT.

  The first section of Public Law 99-338 is amended by striking ``one 
renewal'' and inserting ``3 renewals''.

SEC. 2. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

  Section 3 of Public Law 99-338 is amended to read as follows:
  ``Sec. 3. The permit shall contain the following provisions:
          ``(1) A prohibition on expansion of the Kaweah Project in 
        Sequoia National Park.
          ``(2) A requirement that an independent safety assessment of 
        the Kaweah Project be conducted, and that any deficiencies 
        identified as a result of the assessment would be corrected.
          ``(3) A requirement that the Secretary prepare and submit to 
        Congress an update of the July 1983 report on the impact of the 
        operations of the Kaweah No. 3 facility on Sequoia National 
        Park.
          ``(4) Any other reasonable terms and conditions that the 
        Secretary of the Interior deems necessary and proper for the 
        management and care of Sequoia National Park and the purposes 
        for which it was established.''.

  Amend the title so as to read:

      A bill to amend Public Law 99-338 to authorize the 
continued use of certain lands within the Sequoia National Park 
by portions of an existing hydroelectric project, and for other 
purposes.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 3932 is to amend Public Law 99-338 to 
authorize the continued use of certain lands within the Sequoia 
National Park by portions of an existing hydroelectric project, 
and for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    On December 21, 1943, Congress expanded the boundaries of 
the Sequoia National Park, and in doing so acquired lands that 
included portions of the Kaweah Hydroelectric Project operated 
by Southern California Edison Company. The Company has been 
operating the project on site since it went online on May 29, 
1913. From 1943 through 1986, Congress authorized the Secretary 
of the Interior to extend the company's permit to operate the 
project in the Park. In 1986, Congress again reauthorized the 
Secretary of the Interior to issue a permit for the operation, 
plus authorized a renewal for ten more years, through 1996. The 
Company did renew its permit, which expires in 2006.
    To bring more certainty to the renewal process, H.R. 3932 
would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to reauthorize 
the permit to operate as well as authorize the issuance of two 
additional 10-year renewals, which would allow the Company to 
operate the project through 2026.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 3932 was introduced on March 10, 2004, by Congressman 
Devin Nunes (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. On March 29, 2004, 
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 5, 2004, 
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. 
Congressman Nunes offered an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute that (1) prohibits the expansion of the Kaweah 
Project in the Park; (2) requires an independent safety 
assessment of the Project and any deficiencies identified and 
corrected; and (3) requires the Secretary of Interior to update 
the July 1983 report on the impact of the Project on the Park. 
It was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was 
then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
by unanimous consent.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grants Congress the authority 
to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 13, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3932, a bill to 
amend Public Law 99-338 to authorize the continued use of 
certain lands within the Sequoia National Park by portions of 
an existing hydroelectric project, and for other purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lisa Cash 
Driskill.
            Sincerely,
                                         Elizabeth Robinson
                               (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3932--A bill to amend Public Law 99-338 to authorize the continued 
        use of certain lands within the Sequoia National Park by 
        portions of an existing hydroelectric project, and for other 
        purposes.

    H.R. 3932 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
renew a permit that allows portions of a hydroelectric project 
to operate within the Sequoia National Park in California. The 
current permit expires in 2006 and could be extended for two 
additional 10-year terms under the bill. The permit renewals 
would be subject to certain conditions, such as studies of the 
safety of the project and the impact of the facility on Sequoia 
National Park. Based on information from the Department of the 
Interior, we expect the studies would be paid for by the owner 
of the hydroelectric project. Thus, CBO estimates that H.R. 
3932 would have no significant impact on the federal budget.
    H.R. 3392 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Lisa Cash 
Driskill. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                   JOINT RESOLUTION OF JUNE 19, 1986


                          (Public Law 99-338)

Joint Resolution To authorize the continued use of certain lands within 
  the Sequoia National Park by portions of an existing hydroelectric 
project.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


  Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to issue a 
permit for ten years, and may issue not more than [one renewal] 
3 renewals of equivalent duration, for portions of an existing 
hydroelectric project, known as the Kaweah Project of Southern 
California Edison Company, to continue to occupy and use lands 
of the United States within Sequoia National Park as necessary 
for continued operation and maintenance.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [Sec. 3. The permit shall contain a provision prohibiting 
expansion of the Kaweah Project in Sequoia National Park and 
shall also contain such other terms and conditions as the 
Secretary of the Interior shall deem necessary and proper for 
the management and care of Sequoia National Park and the 
purposes for which it was established.]
  Sec. 3. The permit shall contain the following provisions:
          (1) A prohibition on expansion of the Kaweah Project 
        in Sequoia National Park.
          (2) A requirement that an independent safety 
        assessment of the Kaweah Project be conducted, and that 
        any deficiencies identified as a result of the 
        assessment would be corrected.
          (3) A requirement that the Secretary prepare and 
        submit to Congress an update of the July 1983 report on 
        the impact of the operations of the Kaweah No. 3 
        facility on Sequoia National Park.
          (4) Any other reasonable terms and conditions that 
        the Secretary of the Interior deems necessary and 
        proper for the management and care of Sequoia National 
        Park and the purposes for which it was established.

                                  
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