[House Report 108-721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                            Rept. 108-721
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                      Part 2
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                  TAPOCO PROJECT LICENSING ACT OF 2004

                                _______
                                

October 6, 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. 4667]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4667) to authorize and facilitate hydroelectric power 
licensing of the Tapoco Project, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 4667 is to authorize and facilitate 
hydroelectric power licensing of the Tapoco Project, and for 
other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In 1999, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (APGI), the operator 
of the Tapoco Project, a system of four hydropower dames on the 
Little Tennessee and Cheoah rivers that straddle the North 
Carolina-Tennessee border, began work on a re-licensing 
application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(FERC) to continue to operate the Tapoco Project. During the 
re-licensing process, APGI discovered that a portion of the 
project, known as Chilhowee Reservoir, inundates approximately 
two miles of government-owned lands along Abrams Creek and 
three other streams within the boundary of the Great Smoky 
Mountains National Park. The Federal Power Act and the Park's 
enabling legislation specifically prohibit hydropower projects 
within the Park. Thus, FERC does not have the legal authority 
to issue the license for the hydropower projects that flood 
lands within authorized national park boundaries. The record 
from the 1950s and earlier of how the licensing was allowed to 
initially occur is unclear.
    To resolve this situation, H.R. 4667 would require the 
Secretary of the Interior to transfer approximately 100 acres 
of submerged lands within the Park along several creeks to APGI 
and grant jurisdiction to FERC to re-license the Project. In 
exchange, the Park would receive fee title to 186 acres of 
forested uplands within the boundary that APGI owns and retain 
management and enforcement rights over 100 acres transferred to 
APGI. Meanwhile, in a related matter not included in the bill, 
but contingent on the success of passage of the bill and the 
re-licensing effort is a Settlement Agreement developed among 
APGI, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, 
the States of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Eastern Band of 
Cherokee Indians, local governments and several NGOs. The 
Settlement Agreement includes the following: (1) the Nature 
Conservancy (TNC) will donate a 400 acre permanent conservation 
easement within the Park boundary; (2) APGI will donate 
conservation easements to the TNC on several parcels of land; 
and (3) APGI will establish a mitigation fund for the project 
area in Tennessee that will make $100,000 annually to the 
National Park Service and other Federal and State agencies.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 4667 was introduced by Congressman John Duncan (R-TN) 
on June 23, 2004. The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and additionally to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce. Within the Resources Committee, the bill was referred 
to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public 
Lands and the Subcommittee on Water and Power. On September 14, 
2004, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public 
Lands held a hearing on the bill. On September 15, 2004, the 
Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands and 
the Subcommittee on Water and Power were discharged from 
further consideration by unanimous consent. No amendments were 
offered and the bill was then favorably reported to the House 
of Representatives byunanimous 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 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. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to authorize and facilitate 
hydroelectric power licensing of the Tapoco Project, and for 
other purposes.
    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, September 17, 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. 4667, the Tapoco 
Project Licensing Act of 2004.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                      Elizabeth M. Robinson
                               (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4667--Tapoco Project Licensing Act of 2004

    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4667 would cost $6 
million over the 2005-2009 period, assuming appropriation of 
the necessary amounts. Enacting the bill would not affect 
direct spending or revenues. H.R. 4667 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no significant 
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    H.R. 4667 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
exchange 100 acres of land within the Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park in Tennessee for 186 acres of other land within 
the authorized boundary of that park owned by Alcoa Power 
Generating Inc. (APGI). APGI would use the land it receives for 
the Tapoco Hydroelectric Project. According to the National 
Park Service (NPS), the federal land to be conveyed currently 
generates no receipts and is not expected to do so over the 
next 10 years. Hence, we estimate that the proposed exchange 
would not affect offsetting receipts (a credit against direct 
spending). We estimate that the agency would spend about 
$30,000 in 2005 to complete the transaction, assuming the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    H.R. 4667 also would authorize the Secretaries of 
Agriculture and the Interior to acquire certain other land that 
is currently owned by APGI. Based on information from APGI and 
local tax assessors regarding the value of that land, CBO 
estimates that the federal government would spend $6 million 
over the 2006-2009 period to acquire that land, assuming 
appropriation of the necessary funds. We also estimate that any 
resulting increase in federal spending for land management 
would total less than $500,000 a year.
    On June 23, 2004, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
2319, the Tapoco Project Licensing Act of 2004, as ordered 
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources on June 16, 2004. H.R. 4667 and S. 2319 are similar, 
and our cost estimates are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
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

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

                                  
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