Title: Critical Infrastructure Act of 2019
Policy area: Environmental Protection

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.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5445 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5445

     To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to encourage the 
    construction of critical infrastructure, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 17, 2019

 Mr. Stewart introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to encourage the 
    construction of critical infrastructure, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be referred to as the ``Critical Infrastructure Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(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.''.

SEC. 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 et seq.).

SEC. 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 et seq.) if the 
project would otherwise only require an assessment under such Act 
because of the presence of prairie dogs in such buffer area.
                                 <all>