[Senate Report 117-187]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 538
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-187
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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]