To improve hydropower, and for other purposes.

Summary: Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2012 - (Sec. 3) Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to increase from 5,000 to 10,000 kilowatts the size of small hydroelectric power projects which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may exempt from its license requirements.

 (Sec. 4) Amends the Federal Power Act to revise the limitation on the maximum installation capacity of qualifying conduit hydropower facilities that are eligible for an exemption from licensing requirements.

 Requires any person, state, or municipality proposing to construct a qualifying conduit hydropower facility to file with FERC a notice of intent to do so. Requires FERC, within 15 days after receiving such a notice of intent, to make an initial determination as to whether the facility meets the qualifying criteria.

Waives license requirements for any conduit hydroelectric facility that: (1) uses for electric power generation only the hydroelectric potential of a non-federally owned conduit, (2) has a maximum installed capacity of five megawatts, and (3) is not currently licensed or exempted from license requirements.

 Redefines "conduit" to specify any tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance operated for the distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of electricity.

Authorizes FERC to exempt from license requirements any electric power generation facility that utilizes for such generation only the hydroelectric potential of a conduit, and has an installed capacity or 40 megawatts or fewer.

(Sec. 5) Authorizes FERC to extend the preliminary permit period for up to two additional years beyond the three years otherwise allowed if it finds that the permittee has implemented activities under the permit in good faith and with reasonable diligence.

 (Sec. 6) Directs FERC to: (1) investigate the feasibility of issuing a license for hydropower development at nonpowered dams and closed loop pumped storage projects during a two-year period, and (2) hold workshops and develop hydropower pilot projects.

(Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to study: (1) the technical flexibility that existing pumped storage facilities can provide to support intermittent renewable electric energy generation, including the potential for such facilities to be upgraded or retrofitted with advanced commercially available technology; and (2) the technical potential of existing pumped storage facilities and new advanced pumped storage facilities to provide grid reliability benefits.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Hydropower 
Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2012''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Promoting small hydroelectric power projects.
Sec. 4. Promoting conduit hydropower projects.
Sec. 5. FERC authority to extend preliminary permit periods.
Sec. 6. Promoting hydropower development at nonpowered dams and closed 
                            loop pumped storage projects.
Sec. 7. DOE study of pumped storage and potential hydropower from 
                            conduits.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the hydropower industry currently employs approximately 
        300,000 workers across the United States;
            (2) hydropower is the largest source of clean, renewable 
        electricity in the United States;
            (3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, hydropower 
        resources, including pumped storage facilities, provide--
                    (A) nearly 7 percent of the electricity generated 
                in the United States; and
                    (B) approximately 100,000 megawatts of electric 
                capacity in the United States;
            (4) only 3 percent of the 80,000 dams in the United States 
        generate electricity, so there is substantial potential for 
        adding hydropower generation to nonpowered dams; and
            (5) according to one study, by utilizing currently untapped 
        resources, the United States could add approximately 60,000 
        megawatts of new hydropower capacity by 2025, which could 
        create 700,000 new jobs over the next 13 years.

SEC. 3. PROMOTING SMALL HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECTS.

    Subsection (d) of section 405 of the Public Utility Regulatory 
Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2705) is amended by striking ``5,000'' 
and inserting ``10,000''.

SEC. 4. PROMOTING CONDUIT HYDROPOWER PROJECTS.

    (a) Applicability of, and Exemption From, Licensing Requirements.--
Section 30 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 823a) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(a)(1) A qualifying conduit hydropower facility shall not be 
required to be licensed under this part.
    ``(2)(A) Any person, State, or municipality proposing to construct 
a qualifying conduit hydropower facility shall file with the Commission 
a notice of intent to construct such facility. The notice shall include 
sufficient information to demonstrate that the facility meets the 
qualifying criteria.
    ``(B) Not later than 15 days after receipt of a notice of intent 
filed under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall--
            ``(i) make an initial determination as to whether the 
        facility meets the qualifying criteria; and
            ``(ii) if the Commission makes an initial determination, 
        pursuant to clause (i), that the facility meets the qualifying 
        criteria, publish public notice of the notice of intent filed 
        under subparagraph (A).
    ``(C) If, not later than 45 days after the date of publication of 
the public notice described in subparagraph (B)(ii)--
            ``(i) an entity contests whether the facility meets the 
        qualifying criteria, the Commission shall promptly issue a 
        written determination as to whether the facility meets such 
        criteria; or
            ``(ii) no entity contests whether the facility meets the 
        qualifying criteria, the facility shall be deemed to meet such 
        criteria.
    ``(3) For purposes of this section:
            ``(A) The term `conduit' means any 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) The term `qualifying conduit hydropower facility' 
        means a facility (not including any dam or other impoundment) 
        that is determined or deemed under paragraph (2)(C) to meet the 
        qualifying criteria.
            ``(C) The term `qualifying criteria' means, with respect to 
        a facility--
                    ``(i) the facility is constructed, operated, or 
                maintained for the generation of electric power and 
                uses for such generation only the hydroelectric 
                potential of a non-federally owned conduit;
                    ``(ii) the facility has an installed capacity that 
                does not exceed 5 megawatts; and
                    ``(iii) on or before the date of enactment of the 
                Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2012, the 
                facility is not licensed under, or exempted from the 
                license requirements contained in, this part.
    ``(b) Subject to subsection (c), the Commission may grant an 
exemption in whole or in part from the requirements of this part, 
including any license requirements contained in this part, to any 
facility (not including any dam or other impoundment) constructed, 
operated, or maintained for the generation of electric power which the 
Commission determines, by rule or order--
            ``(1) utilizes for such generation only the hydroelectric 
        potential of a conduit; and
            ``(2) has an installed capacity that does not exceed 40 
        megawatts.''.
            (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``subsection (a)'' and 
        inserting ``subsection (b)''; and
            (3) in subsection (d), by striking ``subsection (a)'' and 
        inserting ``subsection (b)''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (d) of section 405 of the 
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2705), as 
amended, is further amended by striking ``subsection (a) of such 
section 30'' and inserting ``subsection (b) of such section 30''.

SEC. 5. FERC AUTHORITY TO EXTEND PRELIMINARY PERMIT PERIODS.

    Section 5 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 798) is amended--
            (1) by designating the first, second, and third sentences 
        as subsections (a), (c), and (d), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) (as so designated) 
        the following:
    ``(b) The Commission may extend the period of a preliminary permit 
once for not more than 2 additional years beyond the 3 years permitted 
by subsection (a) if the Commission finds that the permittee has 
carried out activities under such permit in good faith and with 
reasonable diligence.''.

SEC. 6. PROMOTING HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AT NONPOWERED DAMS AND CLOSED 
              LOOP PUMPED STORAGE PROJECTS.

    (a) In General.--To improve the regulatory process and reduce 
delays and costs for hydropower development at nonpowered dams and 
closed loop pumped storage projects, the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (referred to in this section as the ``Commission'') shall 
investigate the feasibility of the issuance of a license for hydropower 
development at nonpowered dams and closed loop pumped storage projects 
in a 2-year period (referred to in this section as a ``2-year 
process''). Such a 2-year process shall include any prefiling licensing 
process of the Commission.
    (b) Workshops and Pilots.--The Commission shall--
            (1) not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, hold an initial workshop to solicit public comment 
        and recommendations on how to implement a 2-year process;
            (2) develop criteria for identifying projects featuring 
        hydropower development at nonpowered dams and closed loop 
        pumped storage projects that may be appropriate for licensing 
        within a 2-year process;
            (3) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, develop and implement pilot projects to test a 2-year 
        process, if practicable; and
            (4) not later than 3 years after the date of implementation 
        of the final pilot project testing a 2-year process, hold a 
        final workshop to solicit public comment on the effectiveness 
        of each tested 2-year process.
    (c) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Commission shall, to the 
extent practicable, enter into a memorandum of understanding with any 
applicable Federal or State agency to implement a pilot project 
described in subsection (b).
    (d) Reports.--
            (1) Pilot projects not implemented.--If the Commission 
        determines that no pilot project described in subsection (b) is 
        practicable because no 2-year process is practicable, not later 
        than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        Commission shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
        of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 
        Natural Resources of the Senate a report that--
                    (A) describes the public comments received as part 
                of the initial workshop held under subsection (b)(1); 
                and
                    (B) identifies the process, legal, environmental, 
                economic, and other issues that justify the 
                determination of the Commission that no 2-year process 
                is practicable, with recommendations on how Congress 
                may address or remedy the identified issues.
            (2) Pilot projects implemented.--If the Commission develops 
        and implements pilot projects involving a 2-year process, not 
        later than 60 days after the date of completion of the final 
        workshop held under subsection (b)(4), the Commission shall 
        submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources of the Senate a report that--
                    (A) describes the outcomes of the pilot projects;
                    (B) describes the public comments from the final 
                workshop on the effectiveness of each tested 2-year 
                process; and
                    (C)(i) outlines how the Commission will adopt 
                policies under existing law (including regulations) 
                that result in a 2-year process for appropriate 
                projects;
                    (ii) outlines how the Commission will issue new 
                regulations to adopt a 2-year process for appropriate 
                projects; or
                    (iii) identifies the process, legal, environmental, 
                economic, and other issues that justify a determination 
                of the Commission that no 2-year process is 
                practicable, with recommendations on how Congress may 
                address or remedy the identified issues.

SEC. 7. DOE STUDY OF PUMPED STORAGE AND POTENTIAL HYDROPOWER FROM 
              CONDUITS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall conduct a study--
            (1)(A) of the technical flexibility that existing pumped 
        storage facilities can provide to support intermittent 
        renewable electric energy generation, including the potential 
        for such existing facilities to be upgraded or retrofitted with 
        advanced commercially available technology; and
            (B) of the technical potential of existing pumped storage 
        facilities and new advanced pumped storage facilities, to 
        provide grid reliability benefits; and
            (2)(A) to identify the range of opportunities for 
        hydropower that may be obtained from conduits (as defined by 
        the Secretary) in the United States; and
            (B) through case studies, to assess amounts of potential 
        energy generation from such conduit hydropower projects.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that describes 
the results of the study conducted under subsection (a), including any 
recommendations.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 9, 2012.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.