Critical Infrastructure Act of 2019

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to encourage the construction of critical infrastructure, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be referred to as the Critical Infrastructure Act of 2019 2. Transparency and reporting (a) Information included in monthly billing to power customers The Administrators of each of the Bonneville Power Administration, the Western Area Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and the Southeastern Power Administration shall include in monthly billings sent to each of their power customers information estimating and reporting all costs and factors affecting total power costs, including the costs of the customer’s share of the direct and indirect costs that are incurred by the administration related to compliance with any Federal environmental laws impacting the conservation of fish and wildlife considered by the Administrator concerned, at that Administrator’s sole discretion after consultation with consumers, to be relevant. (b) Direct costs Direct costs reported under this section shall include Federal agency obligations related to— (1) costs of studies; (2) capital, operation, maintenance, and replacement costs; and (3) staffing costs. (c) Indirect costs Indirect costs reported under this section shall include foregone generation (including as a result of water lost to comply with any Federal environmental laws impacting the conservation of fish and wildlife), and replacement power costs, including the net costs of any transmission. (d) Coordination The Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and the head of any other affected Federal agency shall assist the Administrators with the identification of the costs. (e) Report No later than January 30 of each year, each of the Administrators referred to in subsection (a), in coordination with the Bureau of Reclamation and other affected Federal agencies, shall provide an annual report to the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate that includes— (1) all estimated costs and factors affecting total power costs, including estimates of the total direct and indirect costs that are incurred by the administration related to compliance with any Federal environmental laws impacting the conservation of fish and wildlife considered by the Administrator concerned, at that Administrator’s sole discretion after consultation with consumers, to be relevant; and (2) the sources of replacement power. 3. Prohibition of designation of certain habitat in an artificial water delivery or storage facility as critical habitat Section 4(a)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(3) (C) The Secretary shall not designate as critical habitat any area in a water storage reservoir, water diversion structure, canal, or other water storage, diversion, or delivery facility, where habitat is periodically created and destroyed as a result of changes in water levels caused by the operation of such facility. . 4. Powerlines access categorical exclusion Any project to install or maintain electrical transmission poles or powerlines shall be categorically excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 5. Species presence in buffer right-of-way categorical exclusion Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a construction project that includes a buffer area shall be categorically excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4321

Summary: Critical Infrastructure Act of 2019 This bill (1) requires specified power administrations to disclose all estimated costs and factors affecting total power costs, such as costs for complying with environmental laws impacting the conservation of fish and wildlife, (2) prohibits the Department of the Interior from designating critical habitat in certain water infrastructure areas, and (3) provides exemptions from environmental review requirements for certain electrical power projects or construction projects that may affect prairie dogs. Specifically, the bill requires the Bonneville Power Administration, the Western Area Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and the Southeastern Power Administration to include in monthly billing statements sent to each customer estimates of all costs and factors affecting total power costs. The estimates must include the customer's share of such administration's costs for compliance with any relevant federal environmental laws impacting the conservation of fish and wildlife. Each administration must report each year on (1) all estimated costs and factors affecting total power costs, including estimates of its total compliance costs; and (2) sources of replacement power. The bill prohibits Interior from designating critical habitat for endangered or threatened species in certain water storage, diversion, or delivery facilities. In addition, the bill exempts projects to install or maintain electrical transmission poles or power lines from environmental review requirements. The bill also exempts from such review construction projects that include buffer areas if the projects would otherwise only require an environmental assessment because of the presence of prairie dogs in such buffer areas.