IB 

Union Calendar No. 12 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 678 

[Report No. 113–24] 

To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower 

development under Federal Reclamation law, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2013 

Mr. TIPTON (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. COSTA, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. 

SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. LUMMIS, and Mr. 

COFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

MARCH 25, 2013 

Additional sponsors: Mr. GARDNER, Mr. DAINES, and Mr. LAMALFA

MARCH 25, 2013 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit facilities 

for hydropower development under Federal Reclamation 

law, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Bureau of Reclamation 

5 Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION. 

8 Section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 

9 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary is authorized to 

11 enter into contracts to furnish water’’ and inserting 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) The Secretary is authorized to enter into 

14 contracts to furnish water’’; 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘(1) shall’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 

16 shall’’; 

17 (3) by striking ‘‘(2) shall’’ and inserting ‘‘(B) 

18 shall’’; 

19 (4) by striking ‘‘respecting the terms of sales of 

20 electric power and leases of power privileges shall be 

21 in addition and alternative to any authority in exist22 ing laws relating to particular projects’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘respecting the sales of electric power and leases 

24 of power privileges shall be an authorization in addi25 tion to and alternative to any authority in existing 


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1 laws related to particular projects, including small 

2 conduit hydropower development’’; and 

3 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) When carrying out this subsection, 

5 the Secretary shall first offer the lease of power 

6 privilege to an irrigation district or water users 

7 association operating the applicable transferred 

8 work, or to the irrigation district or water users 

9 association receiving water from the applicable 

10 reserved work. The Secretary shall determine a 

11 reasonable time frame for the irrigation district 

12 or water users association to accept or reject a 

13 lease of power privilege offer. 

14 ‘‘(3) The National Environmental Policy 

15 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall not 

16 apply to small conduit hydropower development, 

17 excluding siting of associated transmission on 

18 Federal lands, under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(4) The Power Resources Office of the 

20 Bureau of Reclamation shall be the lead office 

21 of small conduit hydropower activities con22 ducted under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall obli24 gate the Western Area Power Administration, 

25 the Bonneville Power Administration, or the 


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1 Southwestern Power Administration to pur2 chase or market any of the power produced by 

3 the facilities covered under this subsection and 

4 none of the costs associated with production or 

5 delivery of such power shall be assigned to 

6 project purposes for inclusion in project rates. 

7 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this subsection shall alter 

8 or impede the delivery and management of 

9 water by Bureau of Reclamation facilities, as 

10 water used for conduit hydropower generation 

11 shall be deemed incidental to use of water for 

12 the original project purposes. Lease of power 

13 privilege shall be made only when, in the judg14 ment of the Secretary, the exercise of the lease 

15 will not be incompatible with the purposes of 

16 the project or division involved, nor shall it cre17 ate any unmitigated financial or physical im18 pacts to the project or division involved, and 

19 shall be on such terms and conditions as in the 

20 judgment of the Secretary in consultation with 

21 the appropriate irrigation district or water 

22 users association, will adequately protect the 

23 planning, design, construction, operation, main24 tenance, and other interests of the United 

25 States and the project or division involved. 


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1 ‘‘(7) Nothing in this subsection shall alter 

2 or affect any existing agreements for the devel3 opment of conduit hydropower projects or dis4 position of revenues. 

5 ‘‘(8) In this subsection: 

6 ‘‘(A) CONDUIT.—The term ‘conduit’ 

7 means any Bureau of Reclamation tunnel, 

8 canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or 

9 similar manmade water conveyance that is 

10 operated for the distribution of water for 

11 agricultural, municipal, or industrial con12 sumption and not primarily for the genera13 tion of electricity. 

14 ‘‘(B) IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The 

15 term ‘irrigation district’ means any irriga16 tion, water conservation, multicounty water 

17 conservation district, or any separate pub18 lic entity composed of two or more such 

19 districts and jointly exercising powers of 

20 its member districts. 

21 ‘‘(C) RESERVED WORK.—The term 

22 ‘reserved work’ means any conduit that is 

23 included in project works the care, oper24 ation, and maintenance of which has been 

25 reserved by the Secretary, through the 


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1 Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclama2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(D) TRANSFERRED WORK.—The 

4 term ‘transferred work’ means any conduit 

5 that is included in project works the care, 

6 operation, and maintenance of which has 

7 been transferred to a legally organized 

8 water users association or irrigation dis9 trict. 

10 ‘‘(E) SMALL CONDUIT HYDRO11 POWER.—The term ‘small conduit hydro12 power’ means a facility capable of pro13 ducing 5 megawatts or less of electric ca14 pacity.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 12 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 678 

[Report No. 113–24] 

A BILL 

To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit faeral Reclamation law, and for other purposes. cilities for hydropower development under FedMARCH 25, 2013 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS