Title: A bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to exempt certain small hydroelectric power projects that are applying for relicensing under the Federal Power Act from the licensing requirements of that Act.
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
This bill authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to exempt certain small hydroelectric power projects from licensing and other requirements.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1029 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1029

 To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to exempt 
   certain small hydroelectric power projects that are applying for 
relicensing under the Federal Power Act from the licensing requirements 
                              of that Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 3, 2017

  Mr. King (for himself and Mr. Flake) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to exempt 
   certain small hydroelectric power projects that are applying for 
relicensing under the Federal Power Act from the licensing requirements 
                              of that Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EXEMPTIONS FROM LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN SMALL 
              HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECTS.

    Section 405 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 
(16 U.S.C. 2705) is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting 
the following:
    ``(d) Exemptions From Licensing Requirements in Certain Cases.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the 
        Commission may in its discretion (by rule or order), on a case-
        by-case basis or on the basis of classes or categories of 
        projects, grant an exemption in whole or in part from the 
        requirements (including the licensing requirements) of part I 
        of the Federal Power Act to any small hydroelectric power 
        projects--
                    ``(A) having a proposed installed capacity of 
                10,000 kilowatts or less; or
                    ``(B) for which a license was issued under part I 
                of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.) and 
                that files for an exemption under this subsection, if--
                            ``(i) the original or new license was 
                        issued after June 19, 1991;
                            ``(ii) the project is in an area that has 
                        not been determined to be critical to a species 
                        listed as threatened or endangered under 
                        section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
                        (16 U.S.C. 1533) as of the date of the filing 
                        for an exemption under this subsection;
                            ``(iii) the project has an installed 
                        capacity of 15 megawatts or less; and
                            ``(iv) an exemption issued by the 
                        Commission under this subsection does not take 
                        effect until the expiration of the existing 
                        license.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The exemptions granted under 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall be subject to 
        the same limitations (to ensure protection for fish and 
        wildlife as well as other environmental concerns) as those 
        which are set forth in subsections (c) and (d) of section 30 of 
        the Federal Power Act with respect to determinations made and 
        exemptions granted under subsection (b) of such section 30; and 
        subsections (c) and (d) of such section 30 shall apply with 
        respect to actions taken and exemptions granted under this 
        subsection.
            ``(3) Effects.--Except as specifically provided in this 
        subsection, the granting of an exemption to a project under 
        this subsection shall in no case have the effect of waiving or 
        limiting the application (to such project) of the second 
        sentence of subsection (b) of this section.''.
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