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[Senate Report 111-196]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 404
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-196

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

 
  TIME EXTENSION OF A HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT FOR THE LITTLE WOOD RIVER 
                                 RANCH

                                _______
                                

                  May 24, 2010.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 3100]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 3100) to reinstate and extend the 
deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric 
project involving the Little Wood River Ranch, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 3100 is to reinstate the license for, and 
extend the deadline for commencement of construction of, a 
hydroelectric project involving the Little Wood River Ranch in 
Idaho.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    On March 17, 2006, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(FERC), licensed the Little Wood River Ranch II Project No. 
12063. In 2008, the licensee requested and FERC granted the 
single, two-year extension of the commencement of construction 
deadline permitted by section 13 of the Federal Power Act, (16 
U.S.C. 806). The extension required that construction commence 
by March 16, 2010, but as of that date, construction had not 
commenced. As of April 26, 2010, FERC had not yet taken steps 
to terminate the license. Legislation is required to further 
extend the deadline for commencement of construction of the 
proposed hydroelectric project or to reinstate the terminated 
license if it has been terminated prior to enactment and extend 
the construction commencement deadline.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Risch introduced S. 3100 on March 10, 2010. The 
subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on S. 3100 on 
April 27, 2010. At its business meeting on May 6, 2010, the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 3100 
favorably reported without amendment.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on May 6, 2010, by voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 3100.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 requires FERC, at the request of the licensee for 
the project and after reasonable notice and in accordance with 
FERC procedures, to extend the time period required to commence 
the construction of project works for three years beginning on 
the date of enactment, or if the license for FERC Project No. 
12063 has been terminated prior to enactment, to reinstate the 
license issued for the project and extend the time period 
required to commence the construction of project works for 
three years beginning on the date of enactment.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

S. 3100--A bill to reinstate and extend the deadline for commencement 
        of construction of a hydroelectric project involving the Little 
        Wood River Ranch

    CBO estimates that implementing S. 3100 would have no net 
effect on the federal budget. Enacting the bill would not 
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply. S. 3100 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on 
state, local, or tribal governments.
    S. 3100 would authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) to extend the deadline for beginning 
construction of a hydroelectric project (number 12063) in 
Lincoln County, Idaho. The proposed extension could have a 
small impact on FERC's workload. Because FERC recovers 100 
percent of its costs through user fees, any change in its 
administrative costs would be offset by an equal change in fees 
that the commission charges. Therefore, the legislation's 
provisions would have no net budgetary impact.
    Because FERC's administrative costs are controlled through 
annual appropriation acts, enacting S. 3100 would not affect 
direct spending or revenues.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      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. 3100.
    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. 3100, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 3100, 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

                                     Federal Energy
                                     Regulatory Commission,
                                    Washington, DC, April 26, 2010.
Re S. 3100

Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
    Dear Chairman Bingaman: This letter is in response to your 
request for my views on S. 3100. That bill would require the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant a three-year 
extension of the commencement of construction deadline for the 
proposed 1.5-megawatt Little Wood River Ranch II Hydroelectric 
Project No. 12063, to be located on the Little Wood River, near 
the town of Shoshone, in Lincoln County, Idaho, and to 
reinstate the project license if necessary.
    The Commission issued an original license of this project, 
to William Arkoosh, on March 17, 2006. The license provided 
that the company was required to commence project construction 
within two years of the date of the license, the maximum period 
permitted by section 13 of the Federal Power Act. The 
Commission subsequently granted a two-year extension of the 
commencement of construction deadline, again the maximum 
authorized by section 13. Construction had not commenced when 
that deadline expired, on March 16, 2010. Section 13 provides 
that, when construction has not timely commenced, the 
Commission must terminate the license. The Commission has not 
yet taken any steps to do so.
    I and the last several Commission Chairmen have taken the 
position of not opposing legislation that would extend the 
commencement of construction up to 10 years from the date that 
the license in question was issued. Where proposed extensions 
would run beyond that time, there has been a sense that the 
public interest is better served by releasing the site for 
other public uses. Because S. 3100 authorizes the Commission to 
grant a three-year extension from the date of the bill's 
enactment, thus (assuming enactment during this session of 
Congress) extending the commencement of construction deadline 
to less than eight years from when the license was issued, I do 
not oppose the bill.
    If I can be of further assistance to you on this or any 
other Commission matter, please let me know.
            Sincerely,
                                           Jon Wellinghoff,
                                                          Chairman.

                        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 S. 3100, as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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