SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bureau of Reclamation 
Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs 
Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION. 
Section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 
(43 U.S.C. 485h(c)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary is authorized to 
enter into contracts to furnish water’’ and inserting 
‘‘(1) The Secretary is authorized to enter into con-
tracts to furnish water’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘(1) shall’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 
shall’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘(2) shall’’ and inserting ‘‘(B) 
shall’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘respecting the terms of sales of 
electric power and leases of power privileges shall be 
in addition and alternative to any authority in exist-
ing laws relating to particular projects’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘respecting the sales of electric power and leases 
of power privileges shall be an authorization in addi-
tion to and alternative to any authority in existing 
laws related to particular projects, including small 
conduit hydropower development’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) When carrying out this subsection, the Secretary 
shall first offer the lease of power privilege to an irrigation 
district or water users association operating the applicable 
transferred work, or to the irrigation district or water 
users association receiving water from the applicable re-
served work. The Secretary shall determine a reasonable 
time frame for the irrigation district or water users asso-
ciation to accept or reject a lease of power privilege offer. 
‘‘(3) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall not apply to small conduit 
hydropower development, excluding siting of associated 
transmission on Federal lands, under this subsection. 
‘‘(4) The Power Resources Office of the Bureau of 
Reclamation shall be the lead office of small conduit hy-
dropower policy and procedure-setting activities conducted 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall obligate the 
Western Area Power Administration, the Bonneville 
Power Administration, or the Southwestern Power Admin-
istration to purchase or market any of the power produced 
by the facilities covered under this subsection and none 
of the costs associated with production or delivery of such 
power shall be assigned to project purposes for inclusion 
in project rates.
‘‘(6) Nothing in this subsection shall alter or impede 
the delivery and management of water by Bureau of Rec-
lamation facilities, as water used for conduit hydropower 
generation 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 
purposes of the project or division involved, nor shall it 
create 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 work in 
advance of offering the lease of power privilege and shall 
prescribe such terms and conditions that will adequately 
protect the planning, design, construction, operation, 
maintenance, and other interests of the United States and 
the project or division involved. 
‘‘(7) Nothing in this subsection shall alter or affect 
any existing agreements for the development of conduit 
hydropower projects or disposition of revenues. 
‘‘(8) In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) CONDUIT.—The term ‘conduit’ means any 
Bureau of Reclamation tunnel, canal, pipeline, aque-
duct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water con-
veyance that is operated for the distribution of water
for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consump-
tion and not primarily for the generation of elec-
tricity. 
‘‘(B) IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term ‘irriga-
tion district’ means any irrigation, water conserva-
tion or conservancy district, multicounty water con-
servation or conservancy district, or any separate 
public entity composed of two or more such districts 
and jointly exercising powers of its member districts. 
‘‘(C) RESERVED
WORK.—The term ‘reserved 
work’ means any conduit that is included in project 
works the care, operation, and maintenance of which 
has been reserved by the Secretary, through the 
Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. 
‘‘(D) TRANSFERRED WORK.—The term ‘trans-
ferred work’ means any conduit that is included in 
project works the care, operation, and maintenance 
of which has been transferred to a legally organized 
water users association or irrigation district. 
‘‘(E) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
‘‘(F) SMALL
CONDUIT
HYDROPOWER.—The 
term ‘small conduit hydropower’ means a facility ca-
pable of producing 1.5 megawatts or less of electric 
capacity.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives March 7, 
2012. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2842 
AN ACT 
To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit fa-
cilities for hydropower development under Fed-
eral Reclamation law, and for other purposes.