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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Hydroelectric Licensing Process
Improvement Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) hydroelectric power is an irreplaceable source of
clean, economic, renewable energy with the unique capability of
supporting reliable electric service while maintaining
environmental quality;
(2) hydroelectric power is the leading renewable energy
resource of the United States;
(3) hydroelectric power projects provide multiple benefits
to the United States, including recreation, irrigation, flood
control, water supply, and fish and wildlife benefits;
(4) in the next 15 years, the bulk of all non-Federal
hydroelectric power capacity in the United States is due to be
relicensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
(5) the process of licensing hydroelectric projects by the
Commission--
(A) does not produce optimal decisions, because the
agencies that participate in the process are not
required to consider the full effects of their
mandatory and recommended conditions on a license;
(B) is inefficient, in part because agencies do not
always submit their mandatory and recommended
conditions by a time certain;
(C) is burdened by uncoordinated environmental
reviews and duplicative permitting authority; and
(D) is burdensome for all participants and too
often results in litigation; and
(6) while the alternative licensing procedures available to
applicants for hydroelectric project licenses provide important
opportunities for the collaborative resolution of many of the
issues in hydroelectric project licensing, those procedures are
not appropriate in every case and cannot substitute for
statutory reforms of the hydroelectric licensing process.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

The purpose of this Act is to achieve the objective of relicensing
hydroelectric power projects to maintain high environmental standards
while preserving low cost power by--
(1) requiring agencies to consider the full effects of
their mandatory and recommended conditions on a hydroelectric
power license and to document the consideration of a broad
range of factors;
(2) requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
impose deadlines by which Federal agencies must submit proposed
mandatory and recommended conditions to a license; and
(3) making other improvements in the licensing process.

SEC. 4. PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION BY FEDERAL AGENCIES OF CONDITIONS TO
LICENSES.

(a) In General.--Part I of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

''SEC. 32. PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION BY FEDERAL AGENCIES OF CONDITIONS
TO LICENSES.

''(a) Definitions.--In this section:
''(1) Condition.--The term 'condition' means--
''(A) a condition to a license for a project on a
Federal reservation determined by a consulting agency
for the purpose of the first proviso of section 4(e);
and
''(B) a prescription relating to the construction,
maintenance, or operation of a fishway determined by a
consulting agency for the purpose of the first sentence
of section 18.
''(2) Consulting agency.--The term 'consulting agency'
means--
''(A) in relation to a condition described in
paragraph (1)(A), the Federal agency with
responsibility for supervising the reservation; and
''(B) in relation to a condition described in
paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary of the Interior or the
Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate.
''(b) Factors To Be Considered.--
''(1) In general.--In determining a condition, a consulting
agency shall take into consideration--
''(A) the impacts of the condition on--
''(i) economic and power values;
''(ii) electric generation capacity and
system reliability;
''(iii) air quality (including
consideration of the impacts on greenhouse gas
emissions); and
''(iv) drinking, flood control, irrigation,
navigation, or recreation water supply;
''(B) compatibility with other conditions to be
included in the license, including mandatory conditions
of other agencies, when available; and
''(C) means to ensure that the condition addresses
only direct project environmental impacts, and does so
at the lowest project cost.
''(2) Documentation.--
''(A) In general.--In the course of the
consideration of factors under paragraph (1) and before
any review under subsection (e), a consulting agency
shall create written documentation detailing, among
other pertinent matters, all proposals made, comments
received, facts considered, and analyses made regarding
each of those factors sufficient to demonstrate that
each of the factors was given full consideration in
determining the condition to be submitted to the
Commission.
''(B) Submission to the commission.--A consulting
agency shall include the documentation under
subparagraph (A) in its submission of a condition to
the Commission.
''(c) Scientific Review.--
''(1) In general.--Each condition determined by a
consulting agency shall be subjected to appropriately
substantiated scientific review.
''(2) Data.--For the purpose of paragraph (1), a condition
shall be considered to have been subjected to appropriately
substantiated scientific review if the review--
''(A) was based on current empirical data or field-
tested data; and
''(B) was subjected to peer review.
''(d) Relationship to Impacts on Federal Reservation.--In the case
of a condition for the purpose of the first proviso of section 4(e),
each condition determined by a consulting agency shall be directly and
reasonably related to the impacts of the project within the Federal
reservation.
''(e) Administrative Review.--
''(1) Opportunity for review.--Before submitting to the
Commission a proposed condition, and at least 90 days before a
license applicant is required to file a license application
with the Commission, a consulting agency shall provide the
proposed condition to the license applicant and offer the
license applicant an opportunity to obtain expedited review
before an administrative law judge or other independent
reviewing body of--
''(A) the reasonableness of the proposed condition
in light of the effect that implementation of the
condition will have on the energy and economic values
of a project; and
''(B) compliance by the consulting agency with the
requirements of this section, including the requirement
to consider the factors described in subsection (b)(1).
''(2) Completion of review.--
''(A) In general.--A review under paragraph (1)
shall be completed not more than 180 days after the
license applicant notifies the consulting agency of the
request for review.
''(B) Failure to make timely completion of
review.--If review of a proposed condition is not
completed within the time specified by subparagraph
(A), the Commission may treat a condition submitted by
the consulting agency as a recommendation is treated
under section 10(j).
''(3) Remand.--If the administrative law judge or reviewing
body finds that a proposed condition is unreasonable or that
the consulting agency failed to comply with any of the
requirements of this section, the administrative law judge or
reviewing body shall--
''(A) render a decision that--
''(i) explains the reasons for a finding
that the condition is unreasonable and may make
recommendations that the administrative law
judge or reviewing body may have for the
formulation of a condition that would not be
found unreasonable; or
''(ii) explains the reasons for a finding
that a requirement was not met and may describe
any action that the consulting agency should
take to meet the requirement; and
''(B) remand the matter to the consulting agency
for further action.
''(4) Submission to the commission.--Following
administrative review under this subsection, a consulting
agency shall--
''(A) take such action as is necessary to--
''(i) withdraw the condition;
''(ii) formulate a condition that follows
the recommendation of the administrative law
judge or reviewing body; or
''(iii) otherwise comply with this section;
and
''(B) include with its submission to the Commission
of a proposed condition--
''(i) the record on administrative review;
and
''(ii) documentation of any action taken
following administrative review.
''(f) Submission of Final Condition.--
''(1) In general.--After an applicant files with the
Commission an application for a license, the Commission shall
set a date by which a consulting agency shall submit to the
Commission a final condition.
''(2) Limitation.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), the
date for submission of a final condition shall be not later
than 1 year after the date on which the Commission gives the
consulting agency notice that a license application is ready
for environmental review.
''(3) Default.--If a consulting agency does not submit a
final condition to a license by the date set under paragraph
(1)--
''(A) the consulting agency shall not thereafter
have authority to recommend or establish a condition to
the license; and
''(B) the Commission may, but shall not be required
to, recommend or establish an appropriate condition to
the license that--
''(i) furthers the interest sought to be
protected by the provision of law that
authorizes the consulting agency to propose or
establish a condition to the license; and
''(ii) conforms to the requirements of this
Act.
''(4) Extension.--The Commission may make 1 extension, of
not more than 30 days, of a deadline set under paragraph (1).
''(g) Analysis by the Commission.--
''(1) Economic analysis.--The Commission shall conduct an
economic analysis of each condition submitted by a consulting
agency to determine whether the condition would render the
project uneconomic.
''(2) Consistency with this section.--In exercising
authority under section 10(j)(2), the Commission shall consider
whether any recommendation submitted under section 10(j)(1) is
consistent with the purposes and requirements of subsections
(b) and (c) of this section.
''(h) Commission Determination on Effect of Conditions.--When
requested by a license applicant in a request for rehearing, the
Commission shall make a written determination on whether a condition
submitted by a consulting agency--
''(1) is in the public interest, as measured by the impact
of the condition on the factors described in subsection (b)(1);
''(2) was subjected to scientific review in accordance with
subsection (c);
''(3) relates to direct project impacts within the
reservation, in the case of a condition for the first proviso
of section 4(e);
''(4) is reasonable;
''(5) is supported by substantial evidence; and
''(6) is consistent with this Act and other terms and
conditions to be included in the license.''.
(b) Conforming and Technical Amendments.--
(1) Section 4.--Section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 797(e)) is amended--
(A) in the first proviso of the first sentence by
inserting after ''conditions'' the following: '',
determined in accordance with section 32,''; and
(B) in the last sentence, by striking the period
and inserting ''(including consideration of the impacts
on greenhouse gas emissions)''.
(2) Section 18.--Section 18 of the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 811) is amended in the first sentence by striking
''prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce'' and inserting
''prescribed, in accordance with section 32, by the Secretary
of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate''.

SEC. 5. COORDINATED ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.

Part I of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) (as
amended by section 3) is amended by adding at the end the following:

''SEC. 33. COORDINATED ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS.

''(a) Lead Agency Responsibility.--The Commission, as the lead
agency for environmental reviews under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for projects licensed under
this part, shall conduct a single consolidated environmental review--
''(1) for each such project; or
''(2) if appropriate, for multiple projects located in the
same area.
''(b) Consulting Agencies.--In connection with the formulation of a
condition in accordance with section 32, a consulting agency shall not
perform any environmnental review in addition to any environmental
review performed by the Commission in connection with the action to
which the condition relates.
''(c) Deadlines.--
''(1) In general.--The Commission shall set a deadline for
the submission of comments by Federal, State, and local
government agencies in connection with the preparation of any
environmental impact statement or environmental assessment
required for a project.
''(2) Considerations.--In setting a deadline under
paragraph (1), the Commission shall take into consideration--
''(A) the need of the license applicant for a
prompt and reasonable decision;
''(B) the resources of interested Federal, State,
and local government agencies; and
''(C) applicable statutory requirements.''.

SEC. 6. STUDY OF SMALL HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall
submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate
and the Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives a study
of the feasibility of establishing a separate licensing procedure for
small hydroelectric projects.
(b) Definition of Small Hydroelectric Project.--The Commission may
by regulation define the term ''small hydroelectric project'' for the
purpose of subsection (a), except that the term shall include at a
minimum a hydroelectric project that has a generating capacity of 5
megawatts or less.
Prescribes implementation guidelines, including scientific and administrative review, and coordinated environmental review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the designated lead agency.
Directs FERC to submit a feasibility study to certain congressional committees congressional committees regarding the establishment of a special licensing procedure for small hydroelectric projects (projects with a generating capacity of five megawatts or less).