113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1963 
AN ACT 
To amend the Water Conservation and Utilization Act to 
authorize the development of non-Federal hydropower 
and issuance of leases of power privileges at projects 
constructed pursuant to the authority of the Water Con-
servation and Utilization Act, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bureau of Reclamation 
Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT. 
Section 9 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act authorizing 
construction of water conservation and utilization projects 
in the Great Plains and arid semiarid areas of the United 
States’’, approved August 11, 1939 (16 U.S.C. 590z–7; 
commonly known as the ‘‘Water Conservation and Utiliza-
tion Act’’), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘In connection with’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘(a) In connection with’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary is 
authorized to enter into leases of power privileges for elec-
tric power generation in connection with any project con-
structed under this Act, and shall have authority in addi-
tion to and alternative to any authority in existing laws 
relating to particular projects, including small conduit hy-
dropower development. 
‘‘(c) When entering into leases of power privileges 
under subsection (b), the Secretary shall use the processes 
applicable to such leases under section 9(c) of the Rec-
lamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)). 
‘‘(d) Lease of power privilege contracts shall be at 
such rates as, in the Secretary’s judgment, will produce
revenues at least sufficient to cover the appropriate share 
of the annual operation and maintenance cost of the 
project and such fixed charges, including interest, as the 
Secretary deems proper. Lease of power privilege con-
tracts shall be for periods not to exceed 40 years. 
‘‘(e) No findings under section 3 shall be required 
for a lease under subsection (b). 
‘‘(f) All right, title, and interest to installed power 
facilities constructed by non-Federal entities pursuant to 
a lease of power privilege, and direct revenues derived 
therefrom, shall remain with the lessee unless otherwise 
required under subsection (g). 
‘‘(g) Notwithstanding section 8, lease revenues and 
fixed charges, if any, shall be covered into the Reclamation 
Fund to be credited to the project from which those reve-
nues or charges were derived. 
‘‘(h) When carrying out this section, the Secretary 
shall first offer the lease of power privilege to an irrigation 
district or water users association operating the applicable 
transferred conduit, or to the irrigation district or water 
users association receiving water from the applicable re-
served conduit. The Secretary shall determine a reason-
able timeframe for the irrigation district or water users 
association to accept or reject a lease of power privilege 
offer. If the irrigation district or water users association
elects not to accept a lease of power privilege offer under 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall offer the lease of power 
privilege to other parties using the processes applicable to 
such leases under section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project 
Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)). 
‘‘(i) The Bureau of Reclamation shall apply its cat-
egorical exclusion process under the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to 
small conduit hydropower development under this section, 
excluding siting of associated transmission facilities on 
Federal lands. 
‘‘(j) Nothing in this section shall obligate the Western 
Area Power Administration or the Bonneville Power Ad-
ministration to purchase or market any of the power pro-
duced by the facilities covered under this section and none 
of the costs associated with production or delivery of such 
power shall be assigned to project purposes for inclusion 
in project rates. 
‘‘(k) Nothing in this section shall alter or impede the 
delivery and management of water by Bureau of Reclama-
tion facilities, as water used for conduit hydropower gen-
eration shall be deemed incidental to use of water for the 
original project purposes. Lease of power privilege shall 
be made only when, in the judgment of the Secretary, the 
exercise of the lease will not be incompatible with the pur-
poses of the project or division involved and shall not cre-
ate any unmitigated financial or physical impacts to the 
project or division involved. The Secretary shall notify and 
consult with the irrigation district or legally organized 
water users association operating the transferred conduit 
in advance of offering the lease of power privilege and 
shall prescribe such terms and conditions necessary to 
adequately protect the planning, design, construction, op-
eration, maintenance, and other interests of the United 
States and the project or division involved. 
‘‘(l) Nothing in this section shall alter or affect any 
agreements in effect on the date of the enactment of the 
Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development 
Equity and Jobs Act for the development of conduit hy-
dropower projects or disposition of revenues. 
‘‘(m) In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘conduit’ means any Bureau of 
Reclamation tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, 
ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance that is 
operated for the distribution of water for agricul-
tural, municipal, or industrial consumption and not 
primarily for the generation of electricity. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘irrigation district’ means any ir-
rigation, water conservation or conservancy, multi- 
county water conservation or conservancy district, or
any separate public entity composed of two or more 
such districts and jointly exercising powers of its 
member districts. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘reserved conduit’ means any 
conduit that is included in project works the care, 
operation, and maintenance of which has been re-
served by the Secretary, through the Commissioner 
of the Bureau of Reclamation. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘transferred conduit’ means any 
conduit that is included in project works the care, 
operation, and maintenance of which has been trans-
ferred to a legally organized water users association 
or irrigation district. 
‘‘(5) The term ‘small conduit hydropower’ 
means a facility capable of producing 5 megawatts 
or less of electric capacity.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 3, 
2013. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1963 
AN ACT 
To amend the Water Conservation and Utilization 
Act to authorize the development of non-Federal 
hydropower and issuance of leases of power privi-
leges at projects constructed pursuant to the au-
thority of the Water Conservation and Utilization 
Act, and for other purposes.