[Senate Report 111-68]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 151
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     111-68

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   EXTENSION OF DEADLINE TO COMMENCE CONSTRUCTION OF A HYDROELECTRIC 
                                PROJECT

                                _______
                                

                 August 4, 2009.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2938]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 2938) to extend the deadline for 
commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 2938 is to extend the time required for 
commencement of construction of the Melvin Price Dam 
Hydroelectric Project (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
Docket No. P-12187), and for other purposes.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Section 13 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) requires that the 
construction of a licensed project commence within two years 
from the date the license is issued. The Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (Commission) is authorized under the FPA 
to extend this deadline once, for a maximum of two additional 
years, upon a finding that such extension is ``not incompatible 
with the public interest.'' Consequently, a license is subject 
to termination if a licensee fails to begin construction within 
four years after the date the license is issued unless 
legislation authorizing an additional extension is enacted.
    A hydroelectric project has been planned for the existing 
Melvin Price Dam for several years. An earlier license (P-3246) 
was issued by the Commission in 1987 to the Missouri Joint 
Electric Utility Corporation which was then transferred to the 
City of Alton in 1990. The license was terminated in 1998.
    On July 29, 2005, the Commission issued a new license for 
the proposed Melvin Price Dam Project to Price Dam Partnership, 
Limited. By unpublished order dated July 11, 2006, the 
Commission staff granted a 2-year extension through July 25, 
2009 for the commencement of construction. On July 27, 2009, 
the Commission denied Price Dam Partnership, Limited's request 
for a stay of the deadline to commence construction.
    H.R. 2938 would grant the Commission the authority to 
extend the time period during which the licensee is required to 
commence construction of the Melvin Price Dam Hydroelectric 
Project for three additional two-year periods and, if the 
deadline for commencement of construction has expired prior to 
enactment, to reinstate the license on the date that it 
expired.
    The last several Chairmen of the Commission have had a 
policy of not supporting legislation extending commencement of 
hydropower project construction deadlines that would allow an 
entity more than 10 years to develop a project. Because the 
extension authorized by H.R. 2938 would not extend the 
commencement of construction deadline beyond ten years after 
the current project license was issued and because H.R. 2938 
would authorize, but not require, the Commission to grant 
additional extensions, the Commission does not oppose H.R. 
2938.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 2938 was introduced by Representative Costello on June 
18, 2009 and referred to the House Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. On July 22, 
2009, H.R. 2938 passed the House on a motion to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill by a vote of 418 to 0. On July 23, 
2009, H.R. 2938 was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources. At the business meeting on August 4, 
2009, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered 
H.R. 2938 favorably reported.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on August 4, 2009, by voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 2938.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 directs the Commission, upon the request of the 
licensee for the project numbered 12187, and after reasonable 
notice, in accordance with the good faith, due diligence, and 
public interest requirements of section 13 of the Federal Power 
Act and the Commission's procedures under that section, to 
extend the time required for commencement of 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. If the license for the project has expired 
prior to Congressional action, the Commission is authorized to 
reinstate the license effective as of the date of its 
expiration and to extend the period for commencement of 
construction for up to 3 consecutive 2-year periods from the 
date of the expiration of the extension originally issued by 
the Commission.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of 
this measure has been requested but was not received at the 
time the report was filed. When the Congressional Budget Office 
completes its cost estimate, it will be posted on the Internet 
at www.cbo.gov.

                      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 H.R. 2938. 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 program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of H.R. 2938 as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 2938 does not contain any congressionally directed 
spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The views of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
follow:

                      Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
                                    Washington, DC, August 4, 2009.
Re: H.R. 2938

Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC.
    Dear Chairman Bingaman: This letter is in response to your 
request for my views on H.R. 2938. That bill would permit the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant up to three 
additional two-year extensions of the commencement of 
construction deadline for the proposed 92-megawatt Price Dam 
Project No. 12187, to be located at the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers' Melvin Price Locks and Dam on the Mississippi River, 
in Madison County, Illinois, and to reinstate the project 
license if necessary.
    The Commission issued an original license for this project, 
to Price Dam Partnership, Limited, on July 29, 2005 (the 
partnership was acquired by Brookfield Power US Holding Company 
in late 2007). The license provided that the company was 
required to commence project construction within two years of 
the date of the license, the maximum period permitted by 
section 13 of the Federal Power Act. The Commission 
subsequently granted a two-year extension of the commencement 
of construction deadline, again the maximum authorized by 
section 13. Construction had not commenced when that deadline 
expired, on July 28, 2009. Section 13 provides that, when 
construction has not timely commenced, the Commission must 
terminate the license. The Commission has not yet taken any 
steps to do so.
    The last several Commission Chairmen have taken the 
position, with which I concur, of not opposing extension 
legislation, where legislation would extend the commencement of 
construction deadline no further than 10 years from the date 
that the license in question was issued. Beyond that time, 
there has been a sense that the public interest is better 
served by releasing the site for other public uses. Because 
H.R. 2938 authorizes the Commission to grant three two-year 
extensions from the time when the most recent extension 
expired, thus extending the commencement of construction 
deadline to 10 years from when the license was issued, I do not 
oppose the bill.
    If I can be of further assistance to you on this or any 
other Commission matter, please let me know.
            Sincerely,
                                           Jon Wellinghoff,
                                                          Chairman.

                        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 the bill H.R. 2938, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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