29–010 

Calendar No. 447

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " SENATE ! 2d Session 108–237

HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT IN THE STATE OF WYOMING 

MARCH 9, 2004.—ORDERED TO BE PRINTED

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1577] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 1577) to extend the deadline for commencement 

of a hydroelectric project in the State of Wyoming, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 

recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

S. 1577 would extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Wyoming. The 

bill would authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

upon request of the licensee, to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of hydroelectric Project No. 1651 for three consecutive two-year periods. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Section 13 of the Federal Power Act requires that the construction of a licensed project commence within two years from the date 

the license is issued. FERC is authorized under the Federal Power 

Act to extend this deadline once, for a maximum of two additional 

years, upon a finding that such extension is ‘‘not incompatible with 

the public interest.’’ Consequently, a license is subject to termination if a licensee fails to begin construction within four years 

after the date the license is issued unless legislation authorizing an 

additional extension is enacted. S. 1577 authorizes FERC to extend 

the construction deadline for Project No. 1651. 

On December 19, 1997, the Commission issued a license to the 

Swift Creek Power Company to rehabilitate, operate, and maintain 

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the 1.5 megawatt Swift Creek Project No. 1651, located in Lincoln 

County, Wyoming. The original deadline for commencing construction of the project was December 18, 1999. The Commission subsequently extended that deadline to December 18, 2001. 

Project No. 1651 includes rehabilitation of the upper development of the project by modifying the upper dam to add one-foot 

stoplogs, replacing a 36–inch diameter penstock with one 48 inches 

in diameter, dredging around the intake structure, refurbishing the 

powerhouse, and installing two generators. The rehabilitation of 

the project’s lower development includes dredging behind the lower 

dam, installing a 2,000 foot long buried penstock, building a powerhouse, installing two generating units, and burying a short new 

transmission line. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1577 was introduced by Senator Thomas on September 3, 

2003, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on 

S. 1577 on October 15, 2003. S. Hrg. 108–271. The Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources ordered the bill favorably reported 

on February 11, 2004. 

During the 107’h Congress, S. 1852, identical legislation to the 

measure now under consideration, was reported by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on June 28, 2002. The bill 

passed the Senate on August 1, 2002, by unanimous consent, but 

the House failed to act in time to enact the legislation. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTES

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business session on February 11, 2004, by unanimous vote of 

a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1577. 

The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 23 yeas, 0 nays. 

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YEAS NAYS 

Mr. Domenici 

Mr. Nickles 

Mr. Craig 

Mr. Campbell* 

Mr. Thomas 

Mr. Alexander 

Ms. Murkowski 

Mr. Talent 

Mr. Burns 

Mr. Smith* 

Mr. Bunning 

Mr. Kyl*

Mr. Bingaman 

Mr. Akaka 

Mr. Dorgan* 

Mr. Graham of Florida* 

Mr. Wyden* 

Mr. Johnson* 

Ms. Landrieu* 

Mr. Bayh* 

Mrs. Feinstein* 

Mr. Schumer* 

Ms. Cantwell

*Indicates vote by proxy. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 of S. 1577 authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, at the request of the licensee, to extend the deadline 

for commencing construction of hydroelectric Project No. 1651. The 

time period may be extended for three consecutive two-year periods. The extension is to take effect on the date of the expiration 

of the extension originally issued by the Commission under section 

13 of the Federal Power Act. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office.

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, February 20, 2004. 

Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1577, a bill to extend the 

deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric 

project in the state of Wyoming. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lisa Cash Driskill. 

Sincerely, 

ELIZABETH ROBINSON

(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director). 

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Enclosure. 

S.1577—A bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the state of Wyoming 

CBO estimates that implementing S. 1577 would have no net effect on the federal budget. The legislation 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. 1577 would authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend the deadline for construction of a hydroelectric project (number 1651) in Lincoln County, Wyoming. These 

provisions could have a minor 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 the fees that the commission charges. Hence, the legislation’s provisions would have no net budgetary impact. 

Because FERC’s administrative costs are limited in annual appropriations, the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Lisa Cash Driskill. 

This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 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. 1577. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant 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. 1577. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee from 

the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission setting forth the Executive agency recommendation relating to S. 1577 is set forth below.

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, Washington, DC, February 20, 2004. 

Re comments on legislation (S. 1577) relating to the Swift Creek 

Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. P–1651. 

Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Thank you for your February 13, 2004 letter asking for my comments on S. 1577, a bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in 

the State of Wyoming. 

I submitted testimony for the record of your Committee’s October 

15, 2003 hearing to consider this bill and other pending measures. 

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I am enclosing a copy of my testimony in response to your request 

for comments. 

If I can be of further assistance to you in this or any other matter, please let me know. 

Best regards, 

PAT WOOD, III, 

Chairman. 

Enclosure.

STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN PAT WOOD III, FEDERAL ENERGY

REGULATORY COMMISSION

Madam Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I 

appreciate the opportunity to comment on S. 1577, a bill 

to extend the deadline for commencement of construction 

of a hydroelectric project in the State of Wyoming. 

Section 13 of the Federal Power Act requires that construction of a licensed project be commenced within two 

years of issuance of the license. Section 13 authorizes the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend this 

deadline once, for a maximum additional two years. If 

project construction has not commenced by this deadline, 

the Commission is required to terminate the license. Section 13 also authorizes the Commission to extend the deadline for completion of construction when not incompatible 

with the public interest. 

THE PROJECT

On December 19, 1997, the Commission issued a license 

to Swift Creek Power Company to rehabilitate, operate, 

and maintain the 1.5–megawatt Swift Creek Project No. 

1651, in Lincoln County, Wyoming. The project occupies 20 

acres of federal land within the Bridger-Teton National 

Forest. The original deadline in the license for the commencement of construction, December 18, 1999, was, at 

the licensee’s request, extended by the Commission to December 18, 2001, four years after license issuance. The request cited the lack of a power purchase contract. The licensee did not ask the Commission for any further extensions of the deadline. On November 29, 2002, Swift Creek 

Power Company and the Town of Afton, Wyoming, filed a 

joint application to transfer the project license from the 

company to the town. In response to notice of the application, the U.S. Forest Service filed on February 28, 2003, a 

motion to intervene in the transfer proceeding, and commented that it supported the transfer if it facilitated either 

placing the project back into operation or removing the 

project works from and restoring National Forest System 

lands. Action on the application remains pending. 

Rehabilitation of the upper development of Project No. 

1651 entails modifying the upper dam to add one-foot 

stoplogs, replacing a 36–inch-diameter penstock with one 

48 inches in diameter, dredging around the intake structures, refurbishing the powerhouse, and installing two 

generators. Rehabilitation of the project’s upper developVerDate jul 14 2003 21:23 Mar 12, 2004 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR237.XXX SR237
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ment entails dredging behind the lower dam, installing a 

2,000–foot-long buried penstock, building a powerhouse, 

installing two generating units, and burying a short new 

transmission line. 

THE LEGISLATION

S. 1577 would authorize the Commission, at the request 

of the licensee for the project, and after reasonable notice, 

in accordance with the good faith, due diligence, and public 

interest requirements of that section and the Commission’s 

procedures under that section, to extend the time period 

during which the licensee is required to commence the construction of the project for three consecutive two-year periods from the date of the expiration of the extension originally issued by the Commission. 

The Commission interprets the deadlines in Section 13 

as applying only to the initial construction of a project. 

Project No. 1651 was in existence when the project was 

issued a new license in 1997, although refurbishment of 

the damaged project entails significant new construction. 

But while Section 13 is not an impediment to the Project 

No. 1651 licensee, the Commission has rarely given a licensee more than ten years to commence new construction 

at an existing project. 

As a general matter, enactment of bills authorizing or 

requiring commencement-of-construction extensions for individual projects delays utilization in the public interest of 

an important energy resource and therefore is not recommended. In cases where project-specific extensions are 

authorized by the Congress, it has been the position of 

prior Commission chairmen that such extensions should 

not go beyond ten years from the date the project was licensed. I have no reason to depart from this extension policy. 

S. 1577 would permit the licensee for Project No. 1651 

to extend the deadline for commencement of construction 

for three consecutive 2–year periods from the date of the 

expiration of the extension originally issued by the Commission. Accordingly, construction could commence no later 

than ten years from the date the license was issued. This 

time frame is therefore consistent with the Commission’s 

policy, and I have no objection to the bill.

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 S. 1577, as ordered reported.

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