103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2384

AN ACT

to extend the deadlines applicable to certain hydroand for other purposes. electric projects under the Federal Power Act,
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2384

AN ACT

to extend the deadlines applicable to certain hydroelectric

projects under the Federal Power Act, 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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Power Act

5 Amendments of 1994’’.
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1 TITLE I—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

2 ALASKA

3 SEC. 101. STATE LICENSING JURISDICTION OVER SMALL

4 PROJECTS.

5 The Federal Power Act, as amended, (16 U.S.C.

6 791a et seq.) is further amended by adding the following

7 at the end of section 23:

8 ‘‘(c) In the case of any project works in the State

9 of Alaska—

10 ‘‘(1) that are not part of a project licensed

11 under this Act prior to the date of enactment of this

12 subsection;

13 ‘‘(2) for which a license application has not

14 been accepted for filing by the Commission prior to

15 the date of enactment of this subsection (unless such

16 application is withdrawn at the election of the appli17 cant);

18 ‘‘(3) having a power production capacity of

19 5,000 kilowatts or less;

20 ‘‘(4) located entirely within the boundaries of a

21 single State; and

22 ‘‘(5) not located in whole or in part on any In23 dian reservation, unit of the National Park System,

24 component of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System or

25 segment of a river designated for study for potential
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1 addition to such system, the State in which such

2 project works are located shall have the exclusive au3 thority to authorize such project works under State

4 law, in lieu of licensing by the Commission under the

5 otherwise applicable provisions of this part, effective

6 upon the date on which the Secretary of Energy de7 termines, after notice and an opportunity for public

8 comment, that the State has assessed its river re9 sources in a comprehensive way and has in place a

10 process for regulating such projects which gives con11 sideration to the improvement or development of the

12 State’s waterways for the use or benefit of intra13 state, interstate, or foreign commerce, for the im14 provement and use of waterpower development, for

15 the protection, mitigation of damage to, and en16 hancement of fish and wildlife (including related

17 spawning grounds), and for other beneficial public

18 uses, including irrigation, flood control, water sup19 ply, recreational and other purposes, and Indian

20 rights, if applicable. Upon notice from the Governor

21 of the State, the Secretary of Energy shall imme22 diately initiate the process to make this determina23 tion, and shall complete said process and make a de24 termination within 180 days of such notice.
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1 ‘‘(d) In the case of a project that would be subject

2 to authorization by a State under subsection (c) but for

3 the fact that the project has been licensed by the Commis4 sion prior to the enactment of subsection (c), the licensee

5 of such project may in its discretion elect to make the

6 project subject to the authorizing authority of the State.

7 ‘‘(e) With respect to projects located in whole or in

8 part on Federal lands, State authorizations for project

9 works pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall be

10 subject to the approval of the Secretary having jurisdiction

11 with respect to such lands and subject to such terms and

12 conditions as the Secretary may prescribe.

13 ‘‘(f) Nothing in subsection (c) shall preempt the ap14 plication of Federal environment, natural, or cultural re15 sources protection laws according to their terms.’’.

16 SEC. 102. REMOVAL OF FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY

17 COMMISSION JURISDICTION.

18 The following projects located entirely within the

19 State of Alaska are removed from the jurisdiction of the

20 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and all applicable

21 laws and regulations relating to such jurisdiction—

22 (1) a project located at Sitka, Alaska, identified

23 in FERC Docket No. UL89–08; and

24 (2) a project located near Nondalton, Alaska,

25 identified in FERC Docket No. EL88–25.
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1 TITLE II—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

2 ARKANSAS

3 SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.

4 That notwithstanding the time limitations of section

5 13 of the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regu6 latory Commission, upon the request of the licensee for

7 FERC projects numbered 4204, 4660 and 4659 (and after

8 reasonable notice), is authorized, in accordance with the

9 good faith, due diligence and public interest requirements

10 of such section 13 and the Commission’s procedures under

11 such section, to extend the time required for commence12 ment of construction of the projects for a maximum of

13 two years. This section shall take effect for the project

14 upon the expiration of the extension (issued by the Com15 mission under such section 13) of the period required for

16 commencement of construction of such project.

17 TITLE III—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

18 HAWAII

19 SEC. 301. EXEMPTION FOR PROJECTS ON FRESH WATERS

20 IN THE STATE OF HAWAII.

21 Section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act is amended

22 by striking ‘‘several States, or upon’’ and inserting ‘‘sev23 eral States (except fresh waters in the State of Hawaii,

24 unless a license would be required by section 23 of the

25 Act), or upon’’.
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1 TITLE IV—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

2 IDAHO

3 SEC. 401. EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.

4 Notwithstanding the time limitation of section 13 of

5 the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory

6 Commission, upon the request of the licensee for FERC

7 project numbered 4797, is authorized, in accordance with

8 the good faith, due diligence, and public interest require9 ments of such section 13 and the Commission’s procedures

10 under such section, to extend until March 28, 2000 the

11 time required for the licensee to commence the construc12 tion of such project.

13 TITLE V—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

14 ILLINOIS

15 SEC. 501. PROJECT NUMBER 3943.

16 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is au17 thorized and directed to reinstate effective August 16,

18 1994 the hydroelectric license previously issued for Project

19 Number 3943. Within the meaning of section 13 of the

20 Federal Power Act time required for the commencement

21 of construction of such project shall be reinstated for not

22 more than 3 consecutive 2-year periods.

23 SEC. 502. PROJECT NUMBER 3944.

24 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is au25 thorized and directed to reinstate effective August 15,
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1 1994 the hydroelectric license previously issued for Project

2 Number 3944. Within the meaning of section 13 of the

3 Federal Power Act time required for the commencement

4 of construction of such project shall be extended for not

5 more than 3 consecutive 2-year periods.

6 TITLE VI—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

7 KENTUCKY

8 SEC. 601. EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.

9 That notwithstanding the time limitations of section

10 13 of the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regu11 latory Commission, upon the request of the licensee for

12 FERC project numbered 10228 (and after reasonable no13 tice), is authorized, in accordance with the good faith, due

14 diligence and public interest requirements of such section

15 13 and the Commission’s procedures under such section,

16 to extend the time required for commencement of con17 struction of the project for up to a maximum of three con18 secutive two-year periods. This section shall take effect for

19 the project upon the expiration of the extension (issued

20 by the Commission under such section 13) of the period

21 required for commencement of construction of such

22 project.
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1 TITLE VII—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

2 NEW MEXICO

3 SEC. 701. EXEMPTION OF PORTION OF EL VADO HYDRO4 ELECTRIC PROJECT FROM LICENSING RE5 QUIREMENT OF PART I OF THE FEDERAL

6 POWER ACT.

7 (a) Part I of the Federal Power Act shall not be ap8 plicable to the portion of the El Vado Hydroelectric

9 Project, New Mexico (FERC project numbered 5226) that

10 is described in subsection (b).

11 (b) The portion of the El Vado Hydroelectric Project

12 referred to in subsection (a) consists of the 69 KV trans13 mission line, including the right of way, which originates

14 in the switchyard of such project and extends north to the

15 Spills Switching Station operated by the Northern Rio

16 Arriba Electric Cooperative, Inc., located in Rio Arriba

17 County, New Mexico.

18 TITLE VIII—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

19 OREGON

20 SEC. 801. EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.

21 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is au22 thorized and directed to reinstate effective May 23, 1993

23 the hydroelectric license previously issued for project num24 bered 7829. Commencement of construction within the

25 meaning of section 13 of the Federal Power Act shall com-
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1 mence within four years of the date of enactment of this

2 section.

3 TITLE IX—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

4 WASHINGTON

5 SEC. 901. EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.

6 Notwithstanding the time limitation of section 13 of

7 the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory

8 Commission, upon the request of the licensee for FERC

9 project numbered 3701, is authorized, in accordance with

10 the good faith, due diligence, and public interest require11 ments of such section 13 and the Commission’s procedures

12 under such section, to extend until May 31, 2000, the time

13 required for the licensee to commence the construction of

14 such project.

15 TITLE X—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

16 WEST VIRGINIA

17 SEC. 1001. EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.

18 Notwithstanding the time period specified in section

19 13 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 806) that would

20 otherwise apply to the Federal Energy Regulatory Com21 mission projects numbered 6901 and 6902, the Commis22 sion shall, upon the request of the licensee for such

23 projects, in accordance with the good faith, due diligence

24 and public interest requirements of such section 13 and

25 the Commission’s procedures under such section and the
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1 procedures specified in such section, extend the time pe2 riod during which such licensee is required to commence

3 of construction of such projects to terminate on October

4 3, 1999. This section shall take effect for the projects

5 upon the expiration of the extension (issued by the Com6 mission under such section 13) of the period required for

7 commencement of construction of such projects. If the li8 cense issued for project numbered 6902 should expire

9 prior to the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission

10 is authorized and directed to reinstate effective October

11 15, 1994, the license previously issued for such project

12 and to extend the time required for the commencement

13 of construction of such project until October 3, 1999.

14 TITLE XI—PROJECTS IN THE STATE OF

15 PENNSYLVANIA

16 SEC. 1101. EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.

17 Notwithstanding the time limitations of section 13 of

18 the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory

19 Commission, upon the request of the licensee for project

20 number 4474, is authorized, in accordance with the good

21 faith, due diligence, and public interest requirements of

22 section 13 and the Commission’s procedures under such
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1 section, to extend until April 15, 2001, the time required

2 for the licensee to commence construction of such project.

Passed the Senate October 5 (legislative day, September 12), 1994.

Attest:

Secretary.