[Senate Report 112-129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 290
112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     112-129

======================================================================



 
                  KANTISHNA HILLS RENEWABLE ENERGY ACT

                                _______
                                

                January 13, 2012.--Ordered to be printed

 Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of December 17, 2011

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 441]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 441) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to issue permits for a microhydro project in 
nonwilderness areas within the boundaries of Denali National 
Park and Preserve, to acquire land for Denali National Park and 
Preserve from Doyon Tourism, Inc., and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 441 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to issue permits for a microhydro project in non-
wilderness areas within the boundaries of Denali National Park 
and Preserve, and to exchange land managed by Denali National 
Park and Preserve with land from Doyon Tourism, Inc., which is 
located within the park.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Kantishna Roadhouse is owned by Doyon Tourism, Inc., 
which is a subsidiary of Alaska Native Corporation Doyon, Ltd. 
It is a full-service lodge located 92 miles inside Denali 
National Park and Preserve at the end of the Denali Park Road. 
The original roadhouse at Kantishna was built in the early 
1900s, serving as a private residence, a community center, post 
office, and an informal hotel accommodations for those who came 
visiting Kantishna in Denali Park.
    The Roadhouse, like many structures within Denali National 
Park, is entirely off the grid and generates all of its 
electricity needs with a diesel generator. As a result, diesel 
must be trucked along Denali Park Road. The construction of 
this micro hydroelectric project would allow the Roadhouse to 
reduce their diesel use and transport by approximately 50 
percent. This would result in less air and sound pollution in 
this remote area as well as reducing the risk of accident or 
spill, allowing for greater protection of visitors to the park, 
wildlife, and other resources in the park.
    The proposed microhydro generator would be supplied by 
Eureka Creek, a 4-mile long stream. Some water from the creek 
would be diverted through an at-grade water intake with a 
conduit to carry water downhill to the generator housed in one 
of Doyon Tourism's buildings. The generator is capable of 
producing approximately 100 kilowatts of power. An electrical 
distribution line would carry the electricity to the lodge, 
about 600 feet from the microhydro generator. A battery bank 
would store surplus electricity to accommodate peak power 
demands and maintenance shut-downs of the generator. Water 
diverted from Eureka Creek through the microhydro generator 
would be piped to Moose Creek, less than 100 feet downstream 
from the mouth of Eureka Creek.
    Other lodge operators in the park and the Eielson Visitor 
Center have successfully used a microhydro generator system to 
power their respective structures. H.R. 441 will allow the 
National Park Service to issue permits to the Kantishna 
Roadhouse for a similar power generation arrangement. In 
addition, H.R. 441 would authorize the Secretary to issue 
permits for other microhydro projects for in the Kantishna 
Hills area subject to applicable National Park Service terms 
and conditions.
    H.R. 441 also authorizes a land exchange between Denali 
National Park and Doyon Tourism, Inc., for the purpose of 
consolidating land holdings for both the park and Doyon.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 441 was introduced by Representative Don Young and 
passed the House of Representatives by a voice vote on October 
24, 2011.
    A companion measure, S. 313, was introduced in the Senate 
by Senators Murkowski and Begich on February 10, 2011 (S. Hrg. 
112-124). The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on 
S. 313 on May 11, 2011. At its business meeting on November 10, 
2011, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered 
H.R. 441 favorably reported.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on November 10, 2011, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 441.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides for the short title, the Kantishna Hills 
Renewable Energy Act of 2011.''
    Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
    Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to issue permits for microhydro projects in the 
Kantishna Hills area of Denali National Park and Preserve.
    Subsection (b) directs that each permit be in accordance 
with terms and conditions generally applicable to units of the 
National Park System and subject to such other terms and 
conditions as the Secretary determines to be necessary.
    Subsection (c) requires completion of any environmental 
analysis required by National Environment Policy Act within 180 
days of submission of the application for issuance of the 
permit.
    Section 4(a) authorizes an exchange of land managed by 
Denali National Park and Preserve that is near the microhydro 
projects to Doyon Tourism, Inc., in exchange for approximately 
18 acres owned by Doyon Tourism, Inc., within the Galena 
patented mining claim. The purpose of the land exchange is to 
consolidate lands managed by the park and those owned by Doyon 
Tourism, Inc.
    Subsection (b) directs that the Kantishna Hills Micro-Hydro 
Area map numbered 184/80,276 and dated August 27, 2010, be 
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of 
the National Park Service.
    Subsection (c) provides that the Secretary seek to complete 
the land exchange no later than February 15, 2015.
    Subsection (d) requires the land exchange be subject to the 
laws and policies applicable to land managed by the National 
Park Service and to such terms and conditions as the Secretary 
deems necessary.
    Subsection (e) authorizes an equalization of values of the 
lands to be exchanged by adjusting the acreage should the 
parcels being exchanged be determined to not be of equal value.
    Subsection (f) requires the Secretary to manage the land 
acquired from Doyon Tourism, Inc., to be administered as part 
of Denali National Park and Preserve.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

H.R. 441--Kantishna Hills Renewable Energy Act of 2011

    H.R. 441 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
issue permits for microhydroelectric projects in the Kantishna 
Hills area of the Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. 
The legislation also would authorize an exchange of land 
between the Department of the Interior and Doyon Tourism, Inc.
    Based on information from the National Park Service, CBO 
estimates that implementing the act would have no significant 
impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 441 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures do not apply.
    H.R. 441 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    On June 27, 2011, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
441 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural 
Resources on June 15, 2011. The two versions of the legislation 
are identical, and the CBO cost estimates are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von 
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      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. 441.
    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. 441, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 441, as ordered reported, 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 testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
May 11, 2011, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 313 
follows.

 Statement of Stephen E. Whitesell, Associate Director, Park Planning, 
Facilities and Lands, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
views of the Department of the Interior on S. 313, a bill to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits for a 
micro-hydro project in non-wilderness areas within the 
boundaries of Denali National Park and Preserve, and for other 
purposes.
    The Department supports this legislation with amendments 
and recognizes improvements made from the similar bill 
introduced in the previous Congress. S. 313 would authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to issue permits for micro-hydro 
projects in a limited area of the Kantishna Hills in Denali 
National Park. The legislation would also authorize a land 
exchange between the National Park Service (NPS) and Doyon 
Tourism, Inc. (Doyon) involving lands near the historic mining 
community of Kantishna that would be mutually beneficial to the 
NPS and Doyon.
    This legislation will reduce the use of fossil fuels in the 
park, and thus lessen the chance of fuel spills along the park 
road and at the Kantishna lodges. It will lower the number of 
non-visitor vehicle trips over the park road, lessen the noise 
and emissions from diesel generators in the Moose Creek valley, 
and support clean energy projects and sustainable practices 
while ensuring that appropriate review and environmental 
compliance protects all park resources.
    Doyon Tourism, Inc., a subsidiary of Alaska Native 
Corporation Doyon, Ltd., has requested permits from the NPS to 
install a micro-hydroelectric project on Eureka Creek, near 
their Kantishna Roadhouse. The NPS supports the intent of this 
project, however, neither the Secretary nor the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC) has the statutory authority to 
issue permits for portions of hydroelectric projects within 
national parks or monuments. We believe that the authorization 
contained in this legislation is necessary to enable the NPS to 
allow this micro-hydroelectric project within the park.
    The Kantishna Roadhouse, at the end of the 92-mile-long 
Denali park road, has been in business for 28 years, hosts 
approximately 10,000 guests per summer, and currently uses an 
on-site 100 kilowatt (KW) diesel generator to provide power for 
the facility. The proposed hydroelectric installation would 
reduce use of the diesel generator at the lodge. Currently, 
delivery of diesel fuel to the lodge requires a tanker truck 
and trailer to be driven the entire length of the Denali park 
road. Noted for its undeveloped character, the road is unpaved 
for 77 miles of its 92-mile length, crosses high mountain 
passes without guardrails, and is just one to 1\1/2\ lanes wide 
with pullouts. The road is justly famous for wildlife viewing 
opportunities and in order to protect wildlife as well as the 
road's scenic wilderness character, vehicle traffic is limited. 
Reducing the amount of diesel fuel hauled over this road in 
tanker trucks protects park resources by reducing the risk of 
accident or spill, and simultaneously reduces overall vehicle 
use of the road.
    Eureka Creek is a 4-mile-long stream that drains a 5 
square-mile watershed and discharges about 15 cubic feet per 
second (cfs) during the summer. Most of the floodplain has been 
disturbed by past placer mining, but no mining claims exist on 
the creek now and no other landowners besides Doyon and the NPS 
own any property near this floodplain. The project would 
include an at-grade water intake, with no impoundment, about 
one mile upstream of where Eureka Creek crosses the park road.
    Camp Denali, another lodge in the Kantishna Hills, is 
within the area addressed by this legislation. Camp Denali 
opened in 1952 and the owners installed a micro-hydro generator 
system prior to the 1978 Presidential proclamation that 
included Kantishna as a part of what is now Denali National 
Park. After 1978, Camp Denali became a private in-holding 
surrounded by the park, and found that parts of its micro-hydro 
power system were within the park, a situation that the NPS 
lacks the authority to permit or retain. This legislation, if 
amended, would allow the NPS and the owners of Camp Denali to 
work out permit conditions for those parts of the existing 
hydro project that are now on park land. Besides the Kantishna 
Roadhouse and Camp Denali, two other lodges in Kantishna may 
pursue similar projects in the future and thus would benefit 
from the authority granted in this legislation.
    Doyon owns 18 acres on the patented Galena mining claim in 
the Kantishna Hills and would like to exchange that acreage for 
park land in Kantishna of equal value near its other 
properties. The NPS would also like to pursue this exchange to 
consolidate land holdings in the area. Existing land exchange 
authority under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act (ANILCA) and other legislation is sufficient to affect this 
exchange. Thus, while we believe that this provision is 
unnecessary, we support its intent.
    Our concerns with the bill are as follows:
    (1) The bill as introduced requires the Secretary to 
complete National Environmental Policy Act compliance within 
180 days of enactment. While the Department supports a speedy 
response to the applicant, we suggest the 180-day clock start 
upon submission of a complete application to the NPS.
    (2) The permitting authority provided by this bill would 
apply to several micro-hydroelectric projects in the Kantishna 
area, yet various elements of the bill as introduced appear to 
apply solely to a project by Doyon. Technical corrections to 
address this are identified in an attachment to this testimony.
    We believe that the permitting authority granted in S. 313 
would provide a tool that the Secretary could use to lower 
fossil fuel use in Denali National Park, while protecting park 
resources, and that a land exchange would be hastened through 
passage of this legislation. We would welcome the opportunity 
to work with the sponsor and this committee to address our 
concerns and recommendations.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be happy 
to answer any questions that you may have.


                               attachment


    The NPS suggests the following technical corrections to 
H.R. 313:
    (1) On p. 1, line 2 of the long title, strike ``for a 
microhydro project in nonwilderness'' and insert ``for 
microhydro projects in nonwilderness''.
    (2) On p. 3, line 1, strike ``(i) the intake pipeline 
located on Eureka Creek, approximately \1/2\ mile upstream from 
the Park Road, as depicted on the map;'' and insert ``(i) 
intake pipelines;''
    (3) On p. 3, line 8, strike ``line'' and insert ``lines''.
    (4) On p. 3, line 14, strike ``PROJECT'' and insert 
``PROJECTS''.

                        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. 441, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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