II 

Calendar No. 69 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 545 

To improve hydropower, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2013 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. RISCH, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. 

CRAPO, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. BENNET, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. COONS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

MAY 13, 2013 

Reported by Mr. WYDEN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To improve hydropower, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Hydropower Improvement Act of 2013’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Sense of the Senate on the use of hydropower renewable resources. 

Sec. 5. Promoting hydropower development at nonpowered dams and closed 

loop pumped storage projects. 

Sec. 6. Promoting conduit hydropower projects. 

Sec. 7. Promoting small hydroelectric power projects. 

Sec. 8. FERC authority to extend preliminary permit terms. 

Sec. 9. Study of pumped storage and potential hydropower from conduits. 

Sec. 10. Report on memorandum of understanding on hydropower. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) hydropower is the largest source of clean, 

4 renewable electricity in the United States; 

5 (2) as of the date of enactment of this Act, hy6 dropower resources, including pumped storage facili7 ties, provide— 

8 (A) nearly 7 percent of the electricity gen9 erated in the United States, avoiding approxi10 mately 200,000,000 metric tons of carbon emis11 sions each year; and 

12 (B) approximately 100,000 megawatts of 

13 electric capacity in the United States; 

14 (3) only 3 percent of the 80,000 dams in the 

15 United States generate electricity so there is sub16 stantial potential for adding hydropower generation 

17 to nonpower dams; 

18 (4) in every State, a tremendous untapped 

19 growth potential exists in hydropower resources, in20 cluding— 


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1 (A) efficiency improvements and capacity 

2 additions; 

3 (B) adding generation to nonpower dams; 

4 (C) conduit hydropower; 

5 (D) conventional hydropower; 

6 (E) pumped storage facilities; and 

7 (F) new marine and hydrokinetic re8 sources; and 

9 (5) improvements in increased hydropower pro10 duction in the United States have the potential— 

11 (A) to increase the clean energy generation 

12 of the United States; 

13 (B) to improve project performance and re14 sult in better environmental outcomes; and 

15 (C) to provide ancillary benefits that in16 clude grid reliability, energy storage, and inte17 gration services for variable renewable re18 sources. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) CONDUIT.—The term ‘‘conduit’’ means any 

22 tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or 

23 similar manmade water conveyance that is operated 

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1 ipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for 

2 the generation of electricity. 

3 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Energy. 

5 (3) SMALL HYDROELECTRIC POWER

6 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘small hydroelectric power 

7 project’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

8 4.30 of title 18, Code of Federal Regulations. 

9 SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE USE OF HYDRO10 POWER RENEWABLE RESOURCES. 

11 It is the sense of the Senate that the United States 

12 should increase substantially the capacity and generation 

13 of clean, renewable hydropower which will improve the en14 vironmental quality of resources in the United States and 

15 support local job creation and economic investment across 

16 the United States. 

17 SEC. 5. PROMOTING HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AT 

18 NONPOWERED DAMS AND CLOSED LOOP 

19 PUMPED STORAGE PROJECTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—To improve the regulatory process 

21 and reduce delays and costs for hydropower development 

22 at nonpowered dams and closed loop pumped storage 

23 projects, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (re24 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall inves25 tigate the feasibility of the issuance of a license for certain 


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1 hydropower development during the 2-year period begin2 ning on the date of commencement of the prefiling licens3 ing process of the Commission (referred to in this section 

4 as a ‘‘2-year process’’). 

5 (b) WORKSHOPS AND PILOTS.—The Commission 

6 shall— 

7 (1) not later than 60 days after the date of en8 actment of this Act, hold an initial workshop to so9 licit public comment and recommendations on how 

10 to implement a 2-year process; 

11 (2) develop criteria for identifying projects fea12 turing hydropower development at nonpowered dams 

13 and closed loop pumped storage projects that may be 

14 appropriate for licensing within a 2-year process; 

15 (3) not later than 180 days after the date of 

16 enactment of this Act, develop and implement pilot 

17 projects to test a 2-year process, if practicable; and 

18 (4) not later than 3 years after the date of im19 plementation of any pilot project to test a 2-year 

20 process, hold a final workshop to solicit public com21 ment on the effectiveness of the pilot project. 

22 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Com23 mission shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter 

24 into a memorandum of understanding with any applicable 


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1 Federal or State agency to implement a pilot project de2 scribed in subsection (b). 

3 (d) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) PILOT PROJECTS NOT IMPLEMENTED.—If 

5 the Commission determines that the pilot projects 

6 described in subsection (b) are not practicable, not 

7 later than 240 days after the date of enactment of 

8 this Act, the Commission shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen10 ate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

11 the House of Representatives a report that— 

12 (A) describes the public comments received 

13 as part of the initial workshop held under sub14 section (b)(1); and 

15 (B) identifies the process, legal, environ16 mental, economic, and other issues that justify 

17 the determination of the Commission that a 2- 

18 year process is not practicable, with rec19 ommendations on how Congress may address or 

20 remedy the identified issues. 

21 (2) PILOT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED.—If the 

22 Commission develops and implements pilot projects 

23 involving a 2-year process described in subsection 

24 (b), not later than 60 days after the date of comple25 tion of any final workshop held under subsection 


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1 (b)(4), the Commission shall submit to the Com2 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen3 ate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

4 the House of Representatives a report that— 

5 (A) describes the outcomes of the pilot 

6 projects; 

7 (B) describes the public comments from 

8 the final workshop on the effectiveness of the 

9 pilot projects; and 

10 (C)(i) outlines how the Commission will 

11 adopt policies under existing law (including reg12 ulations) that result in a 2-year process; 

13 (ii) outlines how the Commission will pro14 ceed with a rulemaking to adopt a 2-year proc15 ess in the regulations of the Commission; or 

16 (iii) identifies the process, legal, environ17 mental, economic, and other issues that justify 

18 the determination of the Commission that a 2- 

19 year process is not practicable, with rec20 ommendations on how Congress may address or 

21 remedy the identified issues. 

22 SEC. 6. PROMOTING CONDUIT HYDROPOWER PROJECTS. 

23 (a) APPLICABILITY OF, AND EXEMPTION FROM, LI24 CENSING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 30 of the Federal 

25 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 823a) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 

2 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘SEC. 30.’’ and all that follows 

4 through the end of subsection (b) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 30. CONDUIT HYDROPOWER FACILITIES. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) CONDUIT.—The term ‘conduit’ means any 

9 tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or 

10 similar manmade water conveyance that is oper11 ated— 

12 ‘‘(A) for the distribution of water for agri13 cultural, municipal, or industrial consumption; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) not primarily for the generation of 

16 electricity. 

17 ‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CONDUIT HYDROPOWER FA18 CILITY.—The term ‘qualifying conduit hydropower 

19 facility’ means a facility (not including any dam or 

20 other impoundment) that is determined or deemed 

21 under subsection (b)(2)(D) to meet the qualifying 

22 criteria. 

23 ‘‘(3) QUALIFYING CRITERIA.—The term ‘quali24 fying criteria’ means, with respect to a facility, 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the facility is constructed, operated, 

2 or maintained for the generation of electric 

3 power and uses for the generation only the hy4 droelectric potential of a non-federally owned 

5 conduit; 

6 ‘‘(B) the facility has an installed capacity 

7 that does not exceed 5 megawatts; and 

8 ‘‘(C) on or before the date of enactment of 

9 the Hydropower Improvement Act of 2013, the 

10 facility is not licensed under, or exempted from 

11 the license requirements contained in, this part. 

12 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying conduit hydro14 power facility shall not be required to be licensed 

15 under this part. 

16 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF INTENT TO CONSTRUCT FACIL17 ITY.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person, State, or 

19 municipality proposing to construct a qualifying 

20 conduit hydropower facility shall file with the 

21 Commission a notice of intent to construct the 

22 qualifying conduit hydropower facility. 

23 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION.—The notice shall in24 clude sufficient information to demonstrate that 

25 the facility meets the qualifying criteria. 


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1 ‘‘(C) INITIAL DETERMINATION.—Not later 

2 than 15 days after receipt of a notice of intent 

3 is filed under subparagraph (A), the Commis4 sion shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) make an initial determination as 

6 to whether the facility meets the qualifying 

7 criteria; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission makes an ini9 tial determination, pursuant to clause (i) 

10 that the facility meets the qualifying cri11 teria, publish public notice of the notice of 

12 intent filed under subparagraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(D) FINAL DETERMINATION.—If, not 

14 later than 45 days after the date of publication 

15 of the public notice described in subparagraph 

16 (C)(ii)— 

17 ‘‘(i) an entity contests whether the fa18 cility meets the qualifying criteria, the 

19 Commission shall promptly issue a written 

20 determination as to whether the facility 

21 meets the qualifying criteria; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) no entity contests whether the 

23 facility meets the qualifying criteria, the 

24 facility shall be considered to meet the 

25 qualifying criteria. 


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1 ‘‘(c) EXEMPTIONS.—Subject to subsection (d), the 

2 Commission may grant an exemption in whole or in part 

3 from the requirements of this part, including any license 

4 requirements contained in this part, to any facility (not 

5 including any dam or other impoundment) constructed, 

6 operated, or maintained for the generation of electric 

7 power that the Commission determines, by rule or order— 

8 ‘‘(1) uses for the generation only the hydro9 electric potential of a conduit; and 

10 ‘‘(2) has an installed capacity that does not ex11 ceed 40 megawatts.’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (d) (as redesigned by para13 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘subsection (c)’’; and 

15 (4) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by 

16 striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

17 (c)’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) Section 210(j)(3) of the Public Utility Reg20 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a– 

21 3(j)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 30(c)’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘section 30(d)’’. 

23 (2) Section 405(d) of the Public Utility Regu24 latory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2705(d)) is 

25 amended in the first sentence— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘subsections (c) and (d)’’ 

2 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsections 

3 (d) and (e)’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (a) of such sec5 tion 30’’ and inserting ‘‘section 30(c) of that 

6 Act’’. 

7 (3) Section 3401(a)(2) of the Omnibus Budget 

8 Reconciliation Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 7178(a)(2)) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘30(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘30(f)’’. 

10 (4) Section 242(b)(3) of the Energy Policy Act 

11 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15881(b)(3)) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘section 30(a)(2) of the Federal Power Act 

13 (16 U.S.C. 823a(a)(2))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

14 30(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

15 823a(a))’’. 

16 SEC. 7. PROMOTING SMALL HYDROELECTRIC POWER 

17 PROJECTS. 

18 Section 405(d) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli19 cies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2705(d)) is amended in the 

20 first sentence by striking ‘‘5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000’’. 

21 SEC. 8. FERC AUTHORITY TO EXTEND PRELIMINARY PER22 MIT TERMS. 

23 Section 5 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 798) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) by designating the first, second, and third 

2 sentences as subsections (a), (c), and (d), respec3 tively; and 

4 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) (as so des5 ignated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(b) EXTENSION.—The Commission may extend the 

7 term of a preliminary permit once for not more than 2 

8 additional years if the Commission finds that the per9 mittee has carried out activities under the permit in good 

10 faith and with reasonable diligence.’’. 

11 SEC. 9. STUDY OF PUMPED STORAGE AND POTENTIAL HY12 DROPOWER FROM CONDUITS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

14 study— 

15 (1)(A) of the technical flexibility that existing 

16 pumped storage facilities can provide to support 

17 intermittent renewable electric energy generation, in18 cluding the potential for those existing facilities to 

19 be upgraded or retrofitted with advanced commer20 cially available technology; and 

21 (B) of the technical potential of existing 

22 pumped storage facilities and new advanced pumped 

23 storage facilities, to provide grid reliability benefits; 

24 and 


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1 (2)(A) to identify the range of opportunities for 

2 hydropower that may be obtained from conduits (as 

3 defined by the Secretary) in the United States; and 

4 (B) through case studies, to assess amounts of 

5 potential energy generation from such conduit hy6 dropower projects. 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

9 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

10 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

11 the House of Representatives a report that describes the 

12 results of the study conducted under subsection (a), in13 cluding any recommendations. 

14 SEC. 10. REPORT ON MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING 

15 ON HYDROPOWER. 

16 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the President shall submit to the Committee 

18 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

19 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

20 Representatives a report on actions taken by the Depart21 ment of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the 

22 Corps of Engineers to carry out the memorandum of un23 derstanding on hydropower entered into on March 24, 

24 2010, with particular emphasis on actions taken by the 

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1 ciently and responsibly facilitate the Federal permitting 

2 process for Federal and non-Federal hydropower projects 

3 at Federal facilities, within existing authority. 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hy6 dropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

8 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. 

9 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

10 Congress finds that— 

11 (1) the hydropower industry currently employs 

12 approximately 300,000 workers across the United 

13 States; 

14 (2) hydropower is the largest source of clean, re15 newable electricity in the United States; 

16 (3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, hy17 dropower resources, including pumped storage facili18 ties, provide— 

19 (A) nearly 7 percent of the electricity gen20 erated in the United States; and 


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1 (B) approximately 100,000 megawatts of 

2 electric capacity in the United States; 

3 (4) only 3 percent of the 80,000 dams in the 

4 United States generate electricity, so there is substan5 tial potential for adding hydropower generation to 

6 nonpowered dams; and 

7 (5) according to one study, by utilizing currently 

8 untapped resources, the United States could add ap9 proximately 60,000 megawatts of new hydropower ca10 pacity by 2025, which could create 700,000 new jobs 

11 over the next 13 years. 

12 SEC. 3. PROMOTING SMALL HYDROELECTRIC POWER 

13 PROJECTS. 

14 Subsection (d) of section 405 of the Public Utility Reg15 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2705) is amended 

16 by striking ‘‘5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000’’. 

17 SEC. 4. PROMOTING CONDUIT HYDROPOWER PROJECTS. 

18 (a) APPLICABILITY OF, AND EXEMPTION FROM, LI19 CENSING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 30 of the Federal Power 

20 Act (16 U.S.C. 823a) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(a)(1) A qualifying conduit hydropower facility shall 

24 not be required to be licensed under this part. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) Any person, State, or municipality proposing 

2 to construct a qualifying conduit hydropower facility shall 

3 file with the Commission a notice of intent to construct such 

4 facility. The notice shall include sufficient information to 

5 demonstrate that the facility meets the qualifying criteria. 

6 ‘‘(B) Not later than 15 days after receipt of a notice 

7 of intent filed under subparagraph (A), the Commission 

8 shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) make an initial determination as to whether 

10 the facility meets the qualifying criteria; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission makes an initial deter12 mination, pursuant to clause (i), that the facility 

13 meets the qualifying criteria, publish public notice of 

14 the notice of intent filed under subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(C) If, not later than 45 days after the date of publi16 cation of the public notice described in subparagraph 

17 (B)(ii)— 

18 ‘‘(i) an entity contests whether the facility meets 

19 the qualifying criteria, the Commission shall prompt20 ly issue a written determination as to whether the fa21 cility meets such criteria; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) no entity contests whether the facility meets 

23 the qualifying criteria, the facility shall be deemed to 

24 meet such criteria. 

25 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this section: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The term ‘conduit’ means any tunnel, 

2 canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar 

3 manmade water conveyance that is operated for the 

4 distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or 

5 industrial consumption and not primarily for the 

6 generation of electricity. 

7 ‘‘(B) The term ‘qualifying conduit hydropower 

8 facility’ means a facility (not including any dam or 

9 other impoundment) that is determined or deemed 

10 under paragraph (2)(C) to meet the qualifying cri11 teria. 

12 ‘‘(C) The term ‘qualifying criteria’ means, with 

13 respect to a facility— 

14 ‘‘(i) the facility is constructed, operated, or 

15 maintained for the generation of electric power 

16 and uses for such generation only the hydro17 electric potential of a non-federally owned con18 duit; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the facility has an installed capacity 

20 that does not exceed 5 megawatts; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) on or before the date of enactment of 

22 the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 

23 2013, the facility is not licensed under, or ex24 empted from the license requirements contained 

25 in, this part. 


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1 ‘‘(b) Subject to subsection (c), the Commission may 

2 grant an exemption in whole or in part from the require3 ments of this part, including any license requirements con4 tained in this part, to any facility (not including any dam 

5 or other impoundment) constructed, operated, or main6 tained for the generation of electric power which the Com7 mission determines, by rule or order— 

8 ‘‘(1) utilizes for such generation only the hydro9 electric potential of a conduit; and 

10 ‘‘(2) has an installed capacity that does not ex11 ceed 40 megawatts.’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘subsection 

15 (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (d) of sec17 tion 405 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

18 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2705), as amended, is further amended by 

19 striking ‘‘subsection (a) of such section 30’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘subsection (b) of such section 30’’. 

21 SEC. 5. FERC AUTHORITY TO EXTEND PRELIMINARY PER22 MIT PERIODS. 

23 Section 5 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 798) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) by designating the first, second, and third 

2 sentences as subsections (a), (c), and (d), respectively; 

3 and 

4 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) (as so des5 ignated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(b) The Commission may extend the period of a pre7 liminary permit once for not more than 2 additional years 

8 beyond the 3 years permitted by subsection (a) if the Com9 mission finds that the permittee has carried out activities 

10 under such permit in good faith and with reasonable dili11 gence.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. PROMOTING HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AT NON13 POWERED DAMS AND CLOSED LOOP PUMPED 

14 STORAGE PROJECTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—To improve the regulatory process 

16 and reduce delays and costs for hydropower development 

17 at nonpowered dams and closed loop pumped storage 

18 projects, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (re19 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall inves20 tigate the feasibility of the issuance of a license for hydro21 power development at nonpowered dams and closed loop 

22 pumped storage projects in a 2-year period (referred to in 

23 this section as a ‘‘2-year process’’). Such a 2-year process 

24 shall include any prefiling licensing process of the Commis25 sion. 


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1 (b) WORKSHOPS AND PILOTS.—The Commission 

2 shall— 

3 (1) not later than 60 days after the date of en4 actment of this Act, hold an initial workshop to so5 licit public comment and recommendations on how to 

6 implement a 2-year process; 

7 (2) develop criteria for identifying projects fea8 turing hydropower development at nonpowered dams 

9 and closed loop pumped storage projects that may be 

10 appropriate for licensing within a 2-year process; 

11 (3) not later than 180 days after the date of en12 actment of this Act, develop and implement pilot 

13 projects to test a 2-year process, if practicable; and 

14 (4) not later than 3 years after the date of imple15 mentation of the final pilot project testing a 2-year 

16 process, hold a final workshop to solicit public com17 ment on the effectiveness of each tested 2-year process. 

18 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Com19 mission shall, to the extent practicable, enter into a memo20 randum of understanding with any applicable Federal or 

21 State agency to implement a pilot project described in sub22 section (b). 

23 (d) REPORTS.— 

24 (1) PILOT PROJECTS NOT IMPLEMENTED.—If the 

25 Commission determines that no pilot project described 


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1 in subsection (b) is practicable because no 2-year 

2 process is practicable, not later than 240 days after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

4 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com5 merce of the House of Representatives and the Com6 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen7 ate a report that— 

8 (A) describes the public comments received 

9 as part of the initial workshop held under sub10 section (b)(1); and 

11 (B) identifies the process, legal, environ12 mental, economic, and other issues that justify 

13 the determination of the Commission that no 2- 

14 year process is practicable, with recommenda15 tions on how Congress may address or remedy 

16 the identified issues. 

17 (2) PILOT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED.—If the 

18 Commission develops and implements pilot projects 

19 involving a 2-year process, not later than 60 days 

20 after the date of completion of the final workshop held 

21 under subsection (b)(4), the Commission shall submit 

22 to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on En24 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report 

25 that— 


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1 (A) describes the outcomes of the pilot 

2 projects; 

3 (B) describes the public comments from the 

4 final workshop on the effectiveness of each tested 

5 2-year process; and 

6 (C)(i) outlines how the Commission will 

7 adopt policies under existing law (including reg8 ulations) that result in a 2-year process for ap9 propriate projects; 

10 (ii) outlines how the Commission will issue 

11 new regulations to adopt a 2-year process for ap12 propriate projects; or 

13 (iii) identifies the process, legal, environ14 mental, economic, and other issues that justify a 

15 determination of the Commission that no 2-year 

16 process is practicable, with recommendations on 

17 how Congress may address or remedy the identi18 fied issues. 

19 SEC. 7. DOE STUDY OF PUMPED STORAGE AND POTENTIAL 

20 HYDROPOWER FROM CONDUITS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall con22 duct a study— 

23 (1)(A) of the technical flexibility that existing 

24 pumped storage facilities can provide to support 

25 intermittent renewable electric energy generation, inVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:41 May 13, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S545.RS S545

TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 545 RS

1 cluding the potential for such existing facilities to be 

2 upgraded or retrofitted with advanced commercially 

3 available technology; and 

4 (B) of the technical potential of existing pumped 

5 storage facilities and new advanced pumped storage 

6 facilities, to provide grid reliability benefits; and 

7 (2)(A) to identify the range of opportunities for 

8 hydropower that may be obtained from conduits (as 

9 defined by the Secretary) in the United States; and 

10 (B) through case studies, to assess amounts of 

11 potential energy generation from such conduit hydro12 power projects. 

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit 

15 to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

16 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat17 ural Resources of the Senate a report that describes the re18 sults of the study conducted under subsection (a), including 

19 any recommendations. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS

TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 69 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 545 

A BILL 

To improve hydropower, and for other purposes. 

MAY 13, 2013 

Reported with an amendment 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS