I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6247 
To protect the Federal Columbia River Power System, Power Marketing 
Administration customers, and Bureau of Reclamation dams and other 
facilities and to promote new Federal and other hydropower generation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2012 
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To protect the Federal Columbia River Power System, Power 
Marketing Administration customers, and Bureau of 
Reclamation dams and other facilities and to promote 
new Federal and other hydropower generation. 
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 ‘‘Saving Our Dams and 
New Hydropower Development and Jobs Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Findings. 
Sec. 4. Bureau of Reclamation conduit hydropower. 
Sec. 5. Transparency and reporting. 
Sec. 6. Non-Federal contributions to Bureau of Reclamation and Power Mar-
keting Administration infrastructure. 
Sec. 7. Advancing hydropower through new water storage. 
Sec. 8. Prohibitin harmful spills at Bureau of Reclamation and other Federal 
dams. 
Sec. 9. Protecting electricity rights-of-way on Federal lands. 
Sec. 10. Federal funding prohibition on Power Marketing Administration 
memorandum. 
Sec. 11. Federal funding prohibitions on Federal dam removal. 
Sec. 12. Federal funding prohibitions on dam removal mitigation. 
Sec. 13. Federal funding prohibitions on nongovernmental organizations. 
Sec. 14. Departments of the Interior and Commerce conditions and rec-
ommendations. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Hydropower is the most abundant source of 
clean, renewable energy in the United States. 
(2) All Federal hydropower facilities, including 
Bureau of Reclamation dams, provide renewable and 
emissions-free energy to rural and urban commu-
nities, accounting for half of the hydroelectricity pro-
duced in the Nation. 
(3) Non-Federal hydropower facilities, many of 
which are located on Federal lands, provide the 
other half of this clean energy. 
(4) Federal and non-Federal hydropower ac-
count for nearly 7 percent of the electricity gen-
erated in the United States, avoiding approximately 
200,000,000 annual metric tons of carbon emissions. 
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(5) Existing Federal and non-Federal hydro-
power facilities are subject to litigation, judicial or-
ders, and regulations that seek to diminish this re-
source. 
(6) Potential exists to develop new hydropower 
facilities and jobs related to construction and oper-
ation of these facilities. 
(7) It is in the Nation’s economic and environ-
mental interest to protect existing hydropower re-
sources and promote new development. 
SEC. 4. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION CONDUIT HYDRO-
POWER. 
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 
contracts 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-
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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 receiv-
ing water from the applicable reserved work. The 
Secretary shall determine a reasonable timeframe for 
the irrigation district or water users association 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 con-
duit hydropower policy and procedure-setting activi-
ties conducted under this subsection. 
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‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall obligate 
the Western Area Power Administration, the Bonne-
ville Power Administration, or the Southwestern 
Power Administration 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 as-
signed 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 Reclamation facilities, as water used for 
conduit hydropower generation shall be deemed inci-
dental to use of water for the original project pur-
poses. 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, 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 plan-
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