In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

October 7, 1994.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 2384) entitled ‘‘An Act to extend the deadlines applicable to certain hydroelectric projects under the Federal Power Act, and for

other purposes’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. EXTENSIONS OF DEADLINES FOR HYDRO2 POWER PROJECTS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the time limita4 tions of section 13 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C.

5 806), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, upon the

6 request of the licensees for FERC Projects No. 3701, 3943,

7 3944, 4204, 4474, 4660, 4659, 4797, 6901, 6902, 9423, and

8 10228 (and after reasonable notice), is authorized, in ac9 cordance with the good faith, due diligence, and public in10 terest requirements of such section 13 and the Commission’s

11 procedures under such section, to extend the time required

12 for commencement of construction for each such project for

13 a maximum of 2 years. This section shall take effect for

14 each such project upon the expiration of the extension (is15 sued by the Commission under such section 13 or by Act
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1 of Congress) of the period required for commencement of

2 construction of such project.

3 (b) TERMINATION.—The authorization for issuing ex4 tensions under this section shall terminate 3 years after the

5 date of enactment of this section. To facilitate requests for

6 extensions, the Commission may consolidate the requests.

7 The Commission shall, in the case of any project referenced

8 in subsection (a) that has had more than 2 extensions under

9 the Federal Power Act or any other provision of law, shall

10 examine and, at the time of granting extensions under this

11 Act, report to the Congress the reasons for delay in construc12 tion by each licensee and the Commission’s views on the

13 ability of the licensee to comply with the construction re14 quirements of the Federal Power Act before the end of such

15 extension.

16 SEC. 2. REINSTATEMENT.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Energy Regulatory

18 Commission authorized and directed to reinstate effective

19 May 23, 1993, in accordance with the good faith, due dili20 gence, and public interest requirements of section 13 of the

21 Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 806) and the Commission’s

22 procedures under such section, the hydroelectric license pre23 viously issued for Project No. 7829. Commencement of con24 struction within the meaning of section 13 of the Federal

25 Power Act shall commence within 4 years of such date.
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1 (b) TERMINATION.—The authorization under this sec2 tion shall terminate 3 years after the date of enactment of

3 this section.

4 SEC. 3. EXEMPTION OF PORTION OF EL VADO HYDRO5 ELECTRIC PROJECT FROM LICENSING RE6 QUIREMENT OF PART I OF THE FEDERAL

7 POWER ACT.

8 (a) EXEMPTION.—The Federal Energy Regulatory

9 Commission shall provide that the 69 KV transmission line,

10 including the right-of-way, which originates in the switch11 yard of the El Vado Hydroelectric Project, New Mexico

12 (FERC project numbered 5226) and extends north to the

13 Spills Switching Station operated by the Northern Rio

14 Arriba Electric Cooperative, Inc. (‘‘NORA’’), located in Rio

15 Arriba County, New Mexico may be exempt for the term

16 of the applicable license from so much of part I of the Fed17 eral Power Act as the Commission deems necessary to per18 mit NORA to effectively and prudently utilize its system

19 in conjunction with, and in furtherance of, the license un20 less the Commission finds after reasonable notice that such

21 exemption is not in the public interest. The Commission

22 shall initiate this action upon application of the licensee

23 made within 120 days after the enactment of this Act, and

24 the Commission shall provide such exemption without

25 delay.
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1 SEC. 4. CERTAIN PROJECTS UNDER THE FEDERAL POWER

2 ACT IN ALASKA.

3 (a) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 2407(a).—Section

4 2407(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 is amended by

5 striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, in the case of the

6 projects referenced in paragraphs (1) and (3) of this sub7 section and may, in the case of the project in paragraph

8 (2) of this subsection,’’.

9 (b) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 2407(f).—Section

10 2407(f) of such Act is amended by adding the following new

11 sentence at the end thereof: ‘‘The Commission shall, on its

12 own motion, provide such exemption at any time after the

13 enactment of this sentence, taking into consideration any

14 application filed with the Commission prior to such enact15 ment. The Commission shall report to the Congress the ac16 tions taken under this section and if the Commission fails

17 to grant any such exemption in paragraphs (1) and (3)

18 of subsection (a), shall explain the reasons for such failure.’’.

19 SEC. 5. HAWAII LEGISLATIVE REPORT.

20 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, taking

21 into consideration the Commission’s Study, April 13, 1994,

22 of Hydroelectric Licensing in the State of Hawaii, shall ini23 tiate a proceeding for the purpose of making recommenda24 tions to the Congress in the first session of the 104th Con25 gress for legislation to provide for the transfer to the State

26 of Hawaii of all or part of the Commission’s authority
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1 under the Federal Power Act for the licensing of new hydro2 electric projects in the State of Hawaii without affecting

3 the applicability of other Federal environmental laws and

4 regulations to such projects, without transferring such au5 thority to the State in the case of any such projects that

6 could conflict with the management and operation of any

7 National Wildlife Refuge or National Park in Hawaii, and

8 without, to the greatest extent possible, establishing a prece9 dent with respect to other States, Guam, the Virgin Islands,

10 and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Commission

11 shall obtain the views of the State of Hawaii and other Fed12 eral environmental agencies on any proposed legislative rec13 ommendation and shall include such views in the report

14 of the Commission transferring the Commission’s rec15 ommendations to the Congress. The Commission shall in16 clude its views and recommendations and those of any indi17 vidual member of the Commission.
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1 SEC. 6. SIZE LIMITATIONS OF ELIGIBLE FACILITIES UNDER

2 PURPA.

3 Section 3(17)(E) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C.

4 791a and following) is amended by striking ‘‘1994’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘1996’’.

Attest:

Clerk.

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2384

AMENDMENT