```

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9893 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9893

     To improve dam and hydropower safety, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 1, 2024

 Mrs. Dingell (for herself and Mr. Moolenaar) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
     To improve dam and hydropower safety, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Dam and Hydropower Safety 
Improvements Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DAM SAFETY CONDITIONS.

    Section 10 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) That the dam and other project works meet the Commission's 
dam safety requirements and that the licensee shall manage, operate, 
and maintain the dam and other project works in a manner that ensures 
dam safety and public safety under the operating conditions of the 
license.''.

SEC. 3. DAM SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 15 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 808) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) The Commission may issue a new license under this section 
only if--
            ``(1) the Commission determines that the dam and other 
        project works covered by the license meet the Commission's dam 
        safety requirements and that the licensee can continue to 
        manage, operate, and maintain the dam and other project works 
        in a manner that ensures dam safety and public safety under the 
        operating conditions of the new license; or
            ``(2) the new license includes a plan to resolve the 
        noncompliance of the dam or other project works covered by the 
        license with the Commission's dam safety requirements.''.

SEC. 4. VIABILITY PROCEDURES.

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall establish procedures 
to assess the financial viability of an applicant for a license under 
the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) to--
            (1) meet applicable dam safety requirements; and
            (2) operate the dam and project works under the license.

SEC. 5. FERC DAM SAFETY TECHNICAL CONFERENCE WITH STATES.

    (a) Technical Conference.--Not later than October 1, 2025, the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, acting through the Director of 
the Office of Energy Projects, shall hold a technical conference with 
the States to discuss and provide information on--
            (1) dam maintenance and repair;
            (2) Risk Informed Decision Making;
            (3) climate and hydrological regional changes that may 
        affect the structural integrity of dams; and
            (4) high hazard dams.
    (b) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' has the 
meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 
U.S.C. 796).

SEC. 6. REQUIRED DAM SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN FERC AND STATES.

    (a) In General.--The Commission, acting through the Director of the 
Office of Energy Projects, shall notify each State within which a 
project is located when--
            (1) the Commission issues a finding, following a dam safety 
        inspection, that requires the licensee for such project to take 
        actions to repair the dam and other project works that are the 
        subject of such finding;
            (2) after a period of 5 years starting on the date a 
        finding under paragraph (1) is issued, the licensee has failed 
        to take actions to repair the dam and other project works; and
            (3) the Commission initiates a non-compliance proceeding or 
        otherwise takes steps to revoke a license due to the failure of 
        a licensee to take actions to repair a dam and other project 
        works.
    (b) Notice Upon Revocation, Surrender, or Implied Surrender of a 
License.--If the Commission issues an order to revoke a license or 
approve the surrender or implied surrender of a license under the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.), the Commission shall consult 
with the State within which the project that relates to such license is 
located to provide to such State--
            (1) all records pertaining to the structure and operation 
        of the applicable dam and other project works, including, as 
        applicable, any dam safety inspection reports by independent 
        consultants, specifications for required repairs or maintenance 
        of such dam and other project works that have not been 
        completed, and estimates of the costs for such repairs or 
        maintenance;
            (2) all records documenting the history of maintenance or 
        repair work for the applicable dam and other project works;
            (3) information on the age of the dam and other project 
        works and the hazard classification of the dam and other 
        project works;
            (4) the most recent assessment of the condition of the dam 
        and other project works by the Commission;
            (5) as applicable, the most recent hydrologic information 
        used to determine the potential maximum flood for the dam and 
        other project works; and
            (6) the results of the most recent risk assessment 
        completed on the dam and other project works.
    (c) Definition.--In this section:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Energy Regulatory Commission.
            (2) Licensee.--The term ``licensee'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
        796).
            (3) Project.--The term ``project'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
        796).
                                 <all>
```