[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2842 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2842
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 8, 2012
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit facilities for
hydropower development under Federal Reclamation law, 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 cited as the ``Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit
Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION.
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 existing laws relating to
particular projects'' and inserting ``respecting the sales of
electric power and leases of power privileges shall be an
authorization in addition 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 receiving water from the
applicable reserved work. The Secretary shall determine a reasonable
time frame 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 conduit hydropower policy and procedure-
setting activities conducted under this subsection.
``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall obligate the Western Area
Power Administration, the Bonneville 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 assigned 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 incidental to
use of water for the original project purposes. 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 purposes 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
planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and other
interests of the United States and the project or division involved.
``(7) Nothing in this subsection shall alter or affect any existing
agreements for the development of conduit hydropower projects or
disposition of revenues.
``(8) In this subsection:
``(A) Conduit.--The term `conduit' means any Bureau of
Reclamation tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or
similar manmade water conveyance that is operated for the
distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or
industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of
electricity.
``(B) Irrigation district.--The term `irrigation district'
means any irrigation, water conservation or conservancy
district, multicounty water conservation or conservancy
district, or any separate public entity composed of two or more
such districts and jointly exercising powers of its member
districts.
``(C) Reserved work.--The term `reserved work' means any
conduit that is included in project works the care, operation,
and maintenance of which has been reserved by the Secretary,
through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.
``(D) Transferred work.--The term `transferred work' means
any conduit that is included in project works the care,
operation, and maintenance of which has been transferred to a
legally organized water users association or irrigation
district.
``(E) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
``(F) Small conduit hydropower.--The term `small conduit
hydropower' means a facility capable of producing 1.5 megawatts
or less of electric capacity.''.
Passed the House of Representatives March 7, 2012.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.