[Senate Report 115-83]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 102
115th Congress       }                                  {       Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session         }                                  {       115-83

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



 
    TO EXTEND A PROJECT OF THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 
                     INVOLVING THE CANNONSVILLE DAM

                                _______
                                

                  May 24, 2017.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 734]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 734) to extend a project of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission involving the Cannonsville Dam, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 
amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 2, line 12, strike ``required date of'' and 
insert ``period required for''.
    2. On page 2, line 13, insert ``of the project'' after 
``construction''.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 734 is to extend a project of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) involving the 
Cannonsville Dam in New York.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Commission issued an original license to the City of 
New York for the Cannonsville Project (No. 13287) on the 
Delaware River on May 13, 2014. The license would allow the 
City to construct and operate a 14.08-megawatt project on its 
own Cannonsville Dam in New York State. The original license 
required the commencement of project construction within two 
years of the license issuance date, or by May 13, 2016. On 
April 21, 2016, the Commission extended the deadline by two 
years. Due to dam safety issues at the project site, and the 
need to conduct engineering studies and redesign the project, 
construction has yet to commence.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Gillibrand introduced S. 734 on March 27, 2017.
    In the 114th Congress, a similar measure was included in 
Amendment No. 3234, which the Senate agreed to on April 19, 
2016, as an amendment to S. 2012, the Energy Policy 
Modernization Act of 2016, which the Senate passed, as amended, 
on April 20, 2016.
    Representatives Gibson, Engel, Tonko, and Collins 
introduced a similar bill, H.R. 4434, in the House of 
Representatives on February 2, 2016. H.R. 4434 passed the House 
by a vote of 417-2 on March 16, 2016.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered S. 734 
favorably reported, as amended.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open 
business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice vote of 
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 734, if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

    During the consideration of S. 734 the Committee adopted 
two amendments to make technical corrections.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 authorizes the Commission, at the request of the 
licensee and after reasonable notice in accordance with 
Commission procedures, to extend the time period during which 
the licensee is required to commence project construction for 
up to eight years. Section 1 also authorizes the Commission to 
reinstate the license if the license has expired prior to the 
date of enactment of this Act. If so reinstated, the reinstated 
license is to be effective as of the date of the expiration of 
the previous extension.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 734 would have no net 
effect on the federal budget. The bill would authorize the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reinstate the 
license and extend the deadline for beginning construction of a 
hydroelectric project (number 13287) involving the Cannonsville 
Hydroelectric Project in New York. The proposed extension could 
have a minor effect on FERC workload; however, because FERC 
recovers 100 percent of its costs through user fees, any change 
in that agency's costs (which are controlled through annual 
appropriation acts) would be offset by an equal change in fees 
that the commission charges, resulting in no net change in 
federal spending.
    Enacting S. 734 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting S. 734 would not increase net direct 
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    S. 734 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 Megan Carroll. 
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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 S. 734. 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 S. 734, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 734, 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

    Executive Communications were not requested by the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the 115th 
Congress.

                        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 as ordered 
reported.

                                  [all]