Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act

Bill: 113-s-306
Sponsor: Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY]
Introduced: 2013-02-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Dams and canals
Electric power generation and transmission
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2013-02-13
text: 
Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act - Amends the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Bureau of Reclamation) to contract for the development of small conduit hydropower at Bureau facilities.
 
Defines: (1) "small conduit hydropower" as five megawatts or less; and (2) "conduit" as a tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance.
 
Requires that power privilege leases be offered first to an irrigation district or water users association operating or receiving water from the applicable transferred or reserved work. 
 
Defines: (1) &quot;reserved work&quot; as any conduit included in project works whose care, operation, and maintenance have been reserved by the Secretary (through the Bureau); and (2) &quot;transferred work&quot; as any conduit included in project works whose care, operation, and maintenance have been transferred to a legally organized water users association or irrigation district.
 
Exempts the small conduit hydropower development authorized by this Act from the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), except with respect to siting of associated transmission on federal lands.
 
Makes the Bureau's Power Resources Office the lead office for such small conduit hydropower policy and procedure-setting activities (thus excludes such activities from the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC]).
 
Declares that nothing in this Act shall: (1) obligate specified power administrations to purchase or market the power produced by such facilities, (2) alter or impede the delivery and management of water for original project purposes, or (3) alter or affect any existing agreements for conduit hydropower development projects or disposition of revenues. Deems water used for conduit hydropower generation to be incidental to use of water for the original project purposes.

action_date: 2013-05-13
text: 
Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act - Amends the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Bureau of Reclamation) to contract for the development of small conduit hydropower at Bureau facilities.
 
Defines: (1) "small conduit hydropower" as 5 megawatts or less; and (2) "conduit" as a tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance.
 
Requires that power privilege leases be offered first to an irrigation district or water users association operating or receiving water from the applicable transferred or reserved conduit. 
 
Defines: (1) reserved conduit as any conduit included in project works whose care, operation, and maintenance has been reserved by the Secretary (through the Bureau); and (2) transferred conduit as any conduit included in project works whose care, operation, and maintenance has been transferred to a legally organized water users association or irrigation district.
 
Requires the Secretary, if the irrigation district or water users association elects not accept a lease of power privilege offer, to offer it to other parties.
 
Directs the Bureau to apply its categorical exclusion process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to small conduit hydropower development, except with respect to siting of associated transmission facilities on federal lands.
 
(A &quot;categorical exclusion&quot; under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required.)
 
Makes the Bureau's Power Resources Office the lead office for such small conduit hydropower policy and procedure-setting activities. (Thus excludes such activities from the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC].)
 
Declares that nothing in this Act shall: (1) obligate specified power administrations to purchase or market the power produced by such facilities; (2) alter or impede the delivery and management of water for original project purposes; (3) alter or affect any existing agreements for conduit hydropower development projects or disposition of revenues; or (4) alter or affect any existing preliminary permit, license, or exemption issued by FERC or any project for which an application has been filed with FERC as of the date of the enactment of this Act. Deems water used for conduit hydropower generation to be incidental to use of water for the original project purposes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-03
text: By Senator Wyden from Committee on Energy and Natural Resources filed written report. Report No. 113-35.
action_date: 2013-06-03
text: By Senator Wyden from Committee on Energy and Natural Resources filed written report. Report No. 113-35.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 68.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Wyden with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2013-05-13
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Wyden with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2013-05-08
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2013-04-23
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-24.
action_date: 2013-02-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2013-02-13
text: Introduced in Senate