To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower development under Federal Reclamation law, and for other purposes.

Summary: Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2012 - Amends the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Bureau of Reclamation) to contract for the development of small conduit hydropower at Bureau facilities.

Defines: (1) "small" as 1.5 megawatts or less; and (2) "conduit" as a tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance.

Requires that power privilege leases be offered first to an irrigation district or water users association operating or receiving water from the applicable transferred or reserved work.

Defines: (1) reserved work as any conduit included in project works whose care, operation, and maintenance has been reserved by the Secretary (through the Bureau); and (2) transferred work as any conduit included in project works whose care, operation, and maintenance has been transferred to a legally organized water users association or irrigation district.

Exempts the small conduit hydropower development authorized by this Act from the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), except with respect to siting of associated transmission on federal lands.

Makes the Bureau's Power Resources Office the lead office for such small conduit hydropower policy and procedure-setting activities. (Thus excludes such activities from the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC].)

Declares that nothing in this Act shall: (1) obligate specified power administrations to purchase or market the power produced by such facilities, (2) alter or impede the delivery and management of water for original project purposes, or (3) alter or affect any existing agreements for conduit hydropower development projects or disposition of revenues. Deems water used for conduit hydropower generation to be incidental to use of water for the original project purposes.

Allows the lease of power privilege only when the exercise of the lease will not be incompatible with, or create unmitigated financial or physical impacts to, the applicable project or division.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) notify and consult with the appropriate irrigation district or water users association operating a transferred conduit before offering such a lease; and (2) prescribe terms and conditions to protect the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and other interests of the United States and the project or division involved.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit 
Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION.

    Section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 
485h(c)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary is authorized to enter into 
        contracts to furnish water'' and inserting ``(1) The Secretary 
        is authorized to enter into contracts to furnish water'';
            (2) by striking ``(1) shall'' and inserting ``(A) shall'';
            (3) by striking ``(2) shall'' and inserting ``(B) shall'';
            (4) by striking ``respecting the terms of sales of electric 
        power and leases of power privileges shall be in addition and 
        alternative to any authority in existing laws relating to 
        particular projects'' and inserting ``respecting the sales of 
        electric power and leases of power privileges shall be an 
        authorization in addition to and alternative to any authority 
        in existing laws related to particular projects, including 
        small conduit hydropower development''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) When carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall first 
offer the lease of power privilege to an irrigation district or water 
users association operating the applicable transferred work, or to the 
irrigation district or water users association receiving water from the 
applicable reserved work. The Secretary shall determine a reasonable 
time frame for the irrigation district or water users association to 
accept or reject a lease of power privilege offer.
    ``(3) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.) shall not apply to small conduit hydropower development, 
excluding siting of associated transmission on Federal lands, under 
this subsection.
    ``(4) The Power Resources Office of the Bureau of Reclamation shall 
be the lead office of small conduit hydropower policy and procedure-
setting activities conducted under this subsection.
    ``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall obligate the Western Area 
Power Administration, the Bonneville Power Administration, or the 
Southwestern Power Administration to purchase or market any of the 
power produced by the facilities covered under this subsection and none 
of the costs associated with production or delivery of such power shall 
be assigned to project purposes for inclusion in project rates.
    ``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall alter or impede the delivery 
and management of water by Bureau of Reclamation facilities, as water 
used for conduit hydropower generation shall be deemed incidental to 
use of water for the original project purposes. Lease of power 
privilege shall be made only when, in the judgment of the Secretary, 
the exercise of the lease will not be incompatible with the purposes of 
the project or division involved, nor shall it create any unmitigated 
financial or physical impacts to the project or division involved. The 
Secretary shall notify and consult with the irrigation district or 
legally organized water users association operating the transferred 
work in advance of offering the lease of power privilege and shall 
prescribe such terms and conditions that will adequately protect the 
planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and other 
interests of the United States and the project or division involved.
    ``(7) Nothing in this subsection shall alter or affect any existing 
agreements for the development of conduit hydropower projects or 
disposition of revenues.
    ``(8) In this subsection:
            ``(A) Conduit.--The term `conduit' means any Bureau of 
        Reclamation tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or 
        similar manmade water conveyance that is operated for the 
        distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or 
        industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of 
        electricity.
            ``(B) Irrigation district.--The term `irrigation district' 
        means any irrigation, water conservation or conservancy 
        district, multicounty water conservation or conservancy 
        district, or any separate public entity composed of two or more 
        such districts and jointly exercising powers of its member 
        districts.
            ``(C) Reserved work.--The term `reserved work' means any 
        conduit that is included in project works the care, operation, 
        and maintenance of which has been reserved by the Secretary, 
        through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.
            ``(D) Transferred work.--The term `transferred work' means 
        any conduit that is included in project works the care, 
        operation, and maintenance of which has been transferred to a 
        legally organized water users association or irrigation 
        district.
            ``(E) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            ``(F) Small conduit hydropower.--The term `small conduit 
        hydropower' means a facility capable of producing 1.5 megawatts 
        or less of electric capacity.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 7, 2012.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.