[Senate Report 117-187]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                     Calendar No. 538
117th Congress       }                            {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                            {       117-187

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

 
                      SUN RIVER HYDROPOWER PROJECT

                                _______
                                

                October 18, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

 Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of October 14, 2022

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 3450]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 3450), to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to construct, operate, and maintain facilities in the 
Sun River project, Montana, for the purpose of hydroelectric 
power generation, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 3450 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to construct, operate, and maintain facilities in the 
Sun River project, Montana, for the purpose of hydroelectric 
power generation.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Sun River originates in the Rocky Mountains and flows 
east into central Montana before emptying into the Missouri 
River. The Bureau of Reclamation's (Reclamation) Sun River 
Project uses a group of reservoirs and canals along the Sun 
River and its tributaries to irrigate roughly 93,000 acres of 
agricultural land. Gibson Dam, a major structure of the 
project, is a Reclamation-owned dam located on the Sun River 
within the Lewis and Clark National Forest, 70 miles west of 
Great Falls, Montana.
    In January 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(FERC) granted a license to construct and operate hydropower 
facilities at Gibson Dam to the Gibson Dam Hydroelectric 
Company, co-owned by Greenfields Irrigation District, which 
manages water from the dam for agricultural use, and Tollhouse 
Energy Company (138 F.E.R.C. P62,019 (2012)). The project would 
occupy 68.5 acres of federal lands, including lands 
administered by Reclamation, the United States Forest Service, 
and the Bureau of Land Management. The FERC license included a 
number of measures to protect and enhance water quality, fish, 
wildlife, recreation, cultural, and aesthetic resources at the 
project.
    The Gibson Dam hydropower project has faced delays in 
procuring the necessary rights-of-way and obtaining 
transmission corridor compliance from the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (see S. Rept. 115-100 (2017)). In view of 
these delays, FERC extended the time period during which the 
licensee was required to commence construction of the project 
from two to four years, and in 2018, Congress authorized FERC 
to extend the deadline for an additional six years, until 
January 2022 (Public Law 115-219 (2018)). Since the project 
still has not met the deadline for commencing construction, the 
FERC license expired in January of this year.
    S. 3450, as ordered reported, would authorize Reclamation 
to construct, operate, and maintain hydropower generation 
facilities at the Sun River Project, including Gibson Dam. This 
authorization would provide Reclamation permitting authorities 
over hydropower development at Gibson Dam, rather than FERC.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 3450 was introduced by Senator Tester on January 10, 
2022. A similar bill, H.R. 6369, was introduced by 
Representative Rosendale on January 10, 2022. The Subcommittee 
on Water and Power held a hearing on S. 3450 on May 25, 2022. 
At its business meeting on July 21, 2022, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 3450 favorably reported 
without amendment.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 
open business session on July 21, 2022, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 3450.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 establishes the short title of the Act as ``Sun 
River Hydropower Authorization Act.''

Section 2. Authorization of Sun River Project, Montana

    Section 2 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Commissioner of Reclamation to construct, operate, 
and maintain hydroelectric power generation in the Sun River 
Project. Subsection (b) has a savings clause that ensures this 
Act does not impact other authorizations or operations at the 
Sun River project.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of S. 
3450, as ordered reported, 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 S. 3450.
    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. 3450, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 3450, 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 Department of the Interior at 
the May 25, 2022, hearing on S. 3450 follows:

     Statement of Camille Calimlim Touton, Commissioner, Bureau of 
              Reclamation U.S. Department of the Interior

    Reclamation is the second largest producer of hydropower in 
the country. Reclamation owns and operates 53 hydroelectric 
plants, comprising over 14.7 million kilowatts of installed 
capacity. Each year on average, Reclamation plants generate 40 
billion kilowatt hours of electricity (the equivalent demand of 
3.7 million homes), yield nearly one billion dollars in power 
revenues, and displace approximately 17 million tons of carbon 
dioxide. Reclamation's hydropower program supports 
Administration and Department clean energy and climate change 
initiatives by increasing hydropower capabilities and value, 
and facilitating incremental, carbon-neutral energy generation.
    The Sun River Hydropower Authorization Act encourages and 
authorizes the Secretary, through Reclamation, to construct, 
operate, and maintain hydroelectric power generation facilities 
in the Sun River project in Montana. S. 3450 creates additional 
opportunities to work with our federal and non-federal partners 
and provide them with an additional revenue source to address 
aging infrastructure and potentially achieve greater financial 
independence, for a self-sustaining system. Hydropower 
development on the Sun River Project would create additional 
clean renewable energy in the region, consistent with 
Reclamation's mission to manage, develop, and protect water and 
related resources in an environmentally and economically sound 
manner, in the interest of the American public.
    As I testified in January, Reclamation will continue to 
review and assess potential new hydropower projects that 
provide a high economic return for the nation, are energy 
efficient, and can be accomplished in accordance with 
protections for fish and wildlife, the environment, or 
recreation. Reclamation supports the goal of providing clean 
energy to Americans.

                        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 report.

                                  [all]