PUBLIC LAW 113–23—AUG. 9, 2013 127 STAT. 493 

Public Law 113–23 

113th Congress 

An Act 

To improve hydropower, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hydropower 

Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013’’. 

(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’’. 

16 USC 791 note 

prec. 

Hydropower 

Regulatory 

Efficiency Act 

of 2013. 

16 USC 791a 

note. 

Aug. 9, 2013 

[H.R. 267] 


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127 STAT. 494 PUBLIC LAW 113–23—AUG. 9, 2013 

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 2013, 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— 

Determination. 

Definitions. 

Determination. 

Deadline. 

Publication. 

Public 

information. 

Notice. 

Determination. 

Deadline. 

Notice. 


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PUBLIC LAW 113–23—AUG. 9, 2013 127 STAT. 495 

‘‘(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.— 

Criteria. 

Deadlines. 

Time period. 

16 USC 797 note. 


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127 STAT. 496 PUBLIC LAW 113–23—AUG. 9, 2013 

(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 

Determination. 


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PUBLIC LAW 113–23—AUG. 9, 2013 127 STAT. 497 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 267: 

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 113–6 (Comm. on Energy and Commerce). 

SENATE REPORTS: No. 113–38 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 159 (2013): 

Feb. 12, 13, considered and passed House. 

Aug. 1, considered and passed Senate. 

Æ 

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. 

Approved August 9, 2013. 


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