II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2349

To amend the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act with

respect to the licensing of certain hydroelectric projects, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 2 (legislative day, JULY 20), 1994

Mr. GORTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act with respect to the licensing of certain hydroelectric projects, 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. (a) The Congress finds and declares

4 that—

5 (1) salmon and steelhead are important biologi6 cal, commercial, recreational, and cultural resources

7 in the Olympic Peninsula;

8 (2) many salmon and steelhead runs in the

9 Olympic Peninsula have become greatly depleted;
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1 (3) due to the depressed economy of the Olym2 pic Peninsula region, restoration of salmon and

3 steelhead runs, and establishment of consistent rec4 reational, commercial and tribal fisheries is of criti5 cal importance;

6 (4) the Congress of the United States recog7 nized the importance of Elwha River anadromous

8 fisheries by the enactment of the Elwha River Eco9 system and Fisheries Restoration Act, Public Law

10 102–495;

11 (5) significant Federal budget limitations make

12 it uncertain whether funding for acquisition and re13 moval of the Elwha dams pursuant to Public Law

14 102–95 will be provided in the next several years;

15 (6) there are other means of enhancing regional

16 anadromous fish populations that appear to be more

17 cost-effective than dam removal; and

18 (7) should funds for dam acquisition and re19 moval not be provided, uncertainty over the disposi20 tion of the dams creates unacceptable financial risk

21 for the owner of the dams and the local industrial

22 consumer, and threatens a significant number of

23 jobs in the Olympic Peninsula region.

24 (b) The purpose of this Act is to provide for the im25 mediate restoration of native anadromous fisheries in the
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1 Olympic Peninsula in order to prevent possible listing of

2 such stocks under the Endangered Species Act, to provide

3 reasonable financial security for the owner of the Elwha

4 dams and the local industrial consumer, and to protect

5 important jobs in the Olympic Peninsula region.

6 SEC. 2. For the purposes of this Act the term

7 ‘‘streams of the Olympic Peninsula’’ means streams which

8 drain from the Olympic National Park or the Olympic Na9 tional Forest, all tributaries of such streams, and any

10 other systems in the immediate region which the Secretary

11 deems appropriate.

12 SEC. 3. Section 5 of the Elwha River Ecosystem and

13 Fisheries Restoration Act (Public Law 102–495, 106 Stat.

14 3173) is amended by adding a new subsection (d) as fol15 lows:

16 ‘‘(d) If by September 30, 1997, the Elwha Project

17 and the Glines Project are not acquired pursuant to sec18 tion 3, the Commission is authorized and directed to issue

19 a license for such projects pursuant to the Federal Power

20 Act. Such license shall include provisions for facility modi21 fications and operational changes that will enhance Elwha

22 River anadromous fish populations, but such provisions

23 shall be cost-effective and economically justifiable over the

24 term of the license.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. Section 9 of the Elwha River Ecosystem and

2 Fisheries Restoration Act is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘for expenditure through the

4 Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks’’;

5 and

6 (2) by striking ‘‘for expenditure through the

7 National Marine Fisheries Service’’.

8 SEC. 5. The Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries

9 Restoration Act is amended by redesignating section 9 as

10 section 10, and by inserting a new section as follows:

11 ‘‘SEC. 9. OLYMPIC PENINSULA NATIVE ANADROMOUS FISH12 ERIES RESTORATION.

13 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall immediately prepare a pro14 gram for the restoration of the Olympic Peninsula native

15 anadromous fisheries in consultation with the Secretary

16 of Commerce, the State, local Indian tribes and other par17 ties that the Secretary may deem appropriate.

18 ‘‘(b) Implementation of the program shall commence

19 not later than January 1, 1997.

20 ‘‘(c) The program shall provide for the recovery and

21 enhancement of the native, anadromous fishes of the

22 Olympic Peninsula, consistent with the rights of any In23 dian tribe secured by treaty or other Federal law, and ap24 plicable State law.
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1 ‘‘(d) In developing the recovery program, the Sec2 retary—

3 ‘‘(1) shall consider the use of experimental fish4 eries restoration techniques; and

5 ‘‘(2) shall ensure that native wild stock will not

6 be adversely affected to a significant extent if hatch7 ery-raised fish are used.’’.

8 SEC. 6. In addition to the sums authorized to be ap9 propriated by the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries

10 Restoration Act, there are hereby authorized to be appro11 priated to carry out the purposes of section 9 of the Elwha

12 River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act the sum

13 of $25 million.

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