II 

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, and Mr. BEGICH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

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: 

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. 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 545 IS

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— 

21 (A) efficiency improvements and capacity 

22 additions; 

23 (B) adding generation to nonpower dams; 

24 (C) conduit hydropower; 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 545 IS

1 (D) conventional hydropower; 

2 (E) pumped storage facilities; and 

3 (F) new marine and hydrokinetic re4 sources; and 

5 (5) improvements in increased hydropower pro6 duction in the United States have the potential— 

7 (A) to increase the clean energy generation 

8 of the United States; 

9 (B) to improve project performance and re10 sult in better environmental outcomes; and 

11 (C) to provide ancillary benefits that in12 clude grid reliability, energy storage, and inte13 gration services for variable renewable re14 sources. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

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

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

19 similar manmade water conveyance that is operated 

20 for the distribution of water for agricultural, munic21 ipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for 

22 the generation of electricity. 

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

24 the Secretary of Energy. 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 545 IS

1 (3) SMALL HYDROELECTRIC POWER

2 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘small hydroelectric power 

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

4 4.30 of title 18, Code of Federal Regulations. 

5 SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE USE OF HYDRO6 POWER RENEWABLE RESOURCES. 

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

8 should increase substantially the capacity and generation 

9 of clean, renewable hydropower which will improve the en10 vironmental quality of resources in the United States and 

11 support local job creation and economic investment across 

12 the United States. 

13 SEC. 5. PROMOTING HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AT 

14 NONPOWERED DAMS AND CLOSED LOOP 

15 PUMPED STORAGE PROJECTS. 

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

17 and reduce delays and costs for hydropower development 

18 at nonpowered dams and closed loop pumped storage 

19 projects, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (re20 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall inves21 tigate the feasibility of the issuance of a license for certain 

22 hydropower development during the 2-year period begin23 ning on the date of commencement of the prefiling licens24 ing process of the Commission (referred to in this section 

25 as a ‘‘2-year process’’). 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 545 IS

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 

6 to 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 

12 enactment 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 im15 plementation of any pilot project to test a 2-year 

16 process, hold a final workshop to solicit public com17 ment on the effectiveness of the pilot project. 

18 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Com19 mission shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter 

20 into a memorandum of understanding with any applicable 

21 Federal or State agency to implement a pilot project de22 scribed in subsection (b). 

23 (d) REPORTS.— 

24 (1) PILOT PROJECTS NOT IMPLEMENTED.—If 

25 the Commission determines that the pilot projects 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 545 IS

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

2 later than 240 days after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, the Commission shall submit to the Com4 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen5 ate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

6 the House of Representatives a report that— 

7 (A) describes the public comments received 

8 as part of the initial workshop held under sub9 section (b)(1); and 

10 (B) identifies the process, legal, environ11 mental, economic, and other issues that justify 

12 the determination of the Commission that a 2- 

13 year process is not practicable, with rec14 ommendations on how Congress may address or 

15 remedy the identified issues. 

16 (2) PILOT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED.—If the 

17 Commission develops and implements pilot projects 

18 involving a 2-year process described in subsection 

19 (b), not later than 60 days after the date of comple20 tion of any final workshop held under subsection 

21 (b)(4), the Commission shall submit to the Com22 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen23 ate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

24 the House of Representatives a report that— 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 545 IS

1 (A) describes the outcomes of the pilot 

2 projects; 

3 (B) describes the public comments from 

4 the final workshop on the effectiveness of the 

5 pilot projects; 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; 

9 (ii) outlines how the Commission will pro10 ceed with a rulemaking to adopt a 2-year proc11 ess in the regulations of the Commission; or 

12 (iii) identifies the process, legal, environ13 mental, economic, and other issues that justify 

14 the determination of the Commission that a 2- 

15 year process is not practicable, with rec16 ommendations on how Congress may address or 

17 remedy the identified issues. 

18 SEC. 6. PROMOTING CONDUIT HYDROPOWER PROJECTS. 

19 (a) APPLICABILITY OF, AND EXEMPTION FROM, LI20 CENSING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 30 of the Federal 

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

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

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


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 545 IS

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

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

3 following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 30. CONDUIT HYDROPOWER FACILITIES. 

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

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

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

8 similar manmade water conveyance that is oper9 ated— 

10 ‘‘(A) for the distribution of water for agri11 cultural, municipal, or industrial consumption; 

12 and 

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

14 electricity. 

15 ‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CONDUIT HYDROPOWER FA16 CILITY.—The term ‘qualifying conduit hydropower 

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

18 other impoundment) that is determined or deemed 

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

20 criteria. 

21 ‘‘(3) QUALIFYING CRITERIA.—The term ‘quali22 fying criteria’ means, with respect to a facility, 

23 that— 

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

25 or maintained for the generation of electric 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 545 IS

1 power and uses for the generation only the hy2 droelectric potential of a non-federally owned 

3 conduit; 

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

5 that does not exceed 5 megawatts; and 

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

7 the Hydropower Improvement Act of 2013, the 

8 facility is not licensed under, or exempted from 

9 the license requirements contained in, this part. 

10 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying conduit hydro12 power facility shall not be required to be licensed 

13 under this part. 

14 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF INTENT TO CONSTRUCT FACIL15 ITY.— 

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

17 municipality proposing to construct a qualifying 

18 conduit hydropower facility shall file with the 

19 Commission a notice of intent to construct the 

20 qualifying conduit hydropower facility. 

21 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION.—The notice shall in22 clude sufficient information to demonstrate that 

23 the facility meets the qualifying criteria. 

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

25 than 15 days after receipt of a notice of intent 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 545 IS

1 is filed under subparagraph (A), the Commis2 sion shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) make an initial determination as 

4 to whether the facility meets the qualifying 

5 criteria; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission makes an ini7 tial determination, pursuant to clause (i) 

8 that the facility meets the qualifying cri9 teria, publish public notice of the notice of 

10 intent filed under subparagraph (A). 

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

12 later than 45 days after the date of publication 

13 of the public notice described in subparagraph 

14 (C)(ii)— 

15 ‘‘(i) an entity contests whether the fa16 cility meets the qualifying criteria, the 

17 Commission shall promptly issue a written 

18 determination as to whether the facility 

19 meets the qualifying criteria; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) no entity contests whether the 

21 facility meets the qualifying criteria, the 

22 facility shall be considered to meet the 

23 qualifying criteria. 

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

25 Commission may grant an exemption in whole or in part 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 545 IS

1 from the requirements of this part, including any license 

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

3 including any dam or other impoundment) constructed, 

4 operated, or maintained for the generation of electric 

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

6 ‘‘(1) uses for the generation only the hydro7 electric potential of a conduit; and 

8 ‘‘(2) has an installed capacity that does not ex9 ceed 40 megawatts.’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (d) (as redesigned by para11 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘subsection (c)’’; and 

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

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

15 (c)’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) Section 210(j)(3) of the Public Utility Reg18 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a– 

19 3(j)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 30(c)’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘section 30(d)’’. 

21 (2) Section 405(d) of the Public Utility Regu22 latory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2705(d)) is 

23 amended in the first sentence— 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 545 IS

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— 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 545 IS

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 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 545 IS

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 

25 agencies to work together and investigate ways to effiVerDate Mar 14 2013 04:13 Mar 20, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S545.IS S545

pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 545 IS

1 ciently and responsibly facilitate the Federal permitting 

2 process for Federal and non-Federal hydropower projects 

3 at Federal facilities, within existing authority. 

Æ 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS