[Senate Report 115-101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 131
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-101
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TO REINSTATE AND EXTEND THE DEADLINE FOR COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION
OF A HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT INVOLVING CLARK CANYON DAM
_______
June 8, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 491]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 491) to reinstate and extend the deadline
for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project
involving Clark Canyon Dam, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
1. Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF TIME FOR A FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
PROJECT INVOLVING CLARK CANYON DAM.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding the time period specified in
section 13 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 806) that would
otherwise apply to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission project
numbered 12429, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (referred to
in this section as the ``Commission'') may, at the request of the
licensee for the project, and after reasonable notice, in accordance
with the good faith, due diligence, and public interest requirements
of, and the procedures of the Commission under, that section, extend
the time period during which the licensee is required to commence
construction of the project for not more than 6 years from the date of
the expiration of the extension originally issued by the Commission.
(b) Reinstatement of Expired License.--
(1) In general.--If the period required for the commencement
of construction of the project described in subsection (a) has
expired prior to the date of enactment of this Act, the
Commission may reinstate the license effective as of that date
of expiration.
(2) Extension.--If the Commission reinstates the license
under paragraph (1), the first extension authorized under
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of that
expiration.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 491 is to reinstate and extend the
deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric
project involving Clark Canyon Dam.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Clark Canyon Dam Project was licensed as Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) Project No. 12429 in 2009, and
subsequently received the maximum two-year extension in 2011.
Section 13 of the Federal Power Act provides that, if
construction does not timely commence, FERC must terminate the
license. After project construction did not commence by the
extended deadline (August 25, 2013), the license was terminated
by FERC order in 2015. Legislation is required to reinstate the
terminated license and extend the construction commencement
deadline.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senators Daines, Crapo, Risch, and Tester introduced S. 491
on March 2, 2017.
In the 114th Congress, Senator Daines, Crapo, Risch, and
Tester introduced a similar measure, S. 1103, on April 27,
2015. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources conducted a
hearing on S. 1103 on May 19, 2015. The Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources met in open business session on July 30, 2015
and ordered S. 1103 favorably reported (S. Rept. 114-132).
The measure was also included in S. 2012, the Energy Policy
Modernization Act of 2016, an original bill that was reported
by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on July 30,
2015 and passed by the Senate, as amended, on April 26, 2016.
Representatives Zinke, Labrador, and Simpson introduced
companion language, H.R. 2080, in the House of Representatives
on April 28, 2015.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered S. 491
favorably reported as amended.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an
open business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommended that the Senate pass S.
491, if amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 491, the committee adopted
an amendment in the nature of a substitute to provide FERC with
the discretion to extend the project's license and to start the
congressionally authorized extension from the expiration date
of the FERC's license extension instead of the date of the
Act's enactment. The amendment is further described in the
section-by-section analysis.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 authorizes FERC, at the request of the licensee
for the project and after reasonable notice, and in accordance
with FERC procedures, to extend the time period during which
the licensee is required to commence the construction of
project works to a six-year period, beginning on the expiration
date of FERC's license extension. This section also authorizes
FERC to reinstate the license if the license has expired prior
to the date of enactment of this Act. If so reinstated, the
reinstated license is to be effective as of the date of the
expiration of the previous extension.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 491--To reinstate and extend the deadline for commencement of
construction of a hydroelectric project involving Clark Canyon
Dam
CBO estimates that implementing S. 491 would have no net
effect on the federal budget. The bill would authorize the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reinstate the
license and extend the deadline for beginning construction of a
hydroelectric project (number 12429) at Clark Canyon Dam in
Montana. The proposed extension could have a minor effect on
FERC's workload; however, because FERC recovers 100 percent of
its costs through user fees, any change in that agency's costs
(which are controlled through annual appropriation acts) would
be offset by an equal change in fees that the commission
charges, resulting in no net change in federal spending.
Enacting S. 491 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting S. 491 would not increase direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 491 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 491.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government-established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 491, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 491, as reported, does not contain any congressionally
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
Because S. 491 is similar to legislation considered by the
Committee in the 114th Congress, the Committee did not request
Executive Agency views. The written testimony provided by FERC
at the hearing before the Energy and Natural Resources
Committee on May 19, 2015, follows:
Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission,
May 18, 2015.
Re S. 1103 and S. 1104.
Hon. Lisa Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Murkowski: This letter is in response to a
request from your staff for my views on S. 1103 and S. 1104. S.
1103 would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
reinstate the license for the proposed 4.7-megawatt Clark
Canyon Dam Hydroelectric Project No. 12429, to be located at
Reclamation's Clark Canyon Dam on the Beaverhead River in
Beaverhead County, Montana. The bill also would require the
Commission to extend the commencement of construction deadline
for the project for a three-year period. S. 1104 would
authorize the Commission to extend, for six years, the
commencement of construction deadline for the proposed 15-
megawatt Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Project No. 12478, to be
located at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Reclamation's (Reclamation) Gibson Dam, on the Sun River, in
Lewis and Clark and Teton Counties, Montana.
The Commission issued an original license for the Clark
Canyon Dam Project on August 26, 2009. The license required
that commencement of project construction begin by the maximum
allowable two-year deadline, August 25, 2011. At the licensee's
request, the Commission extended the deadline for two years
(i.e., until August 25, 2013), which is the maximum allowable
by section 13 of the Federal Power Act. The licensee was not
able to commence construction by that date and, as required by
section 13, the Commission terminated the license, by order
dated March 19, 2015. The Commission explained that the
licensee could file a new license application and that
Commission staff would work with the licensee to determine
whether portions of the Commission's regulation could be waived
to make the new license proceeding as expeditious as possible.
The Commission issued an original license for the Gibson
Dam Project on January 12, 2012. The license provided that the
company was required to commence project construction within
two years of the date of the license, which again is the
maximum period permitted by the Federal Power Act. The
Commission subsequently granted the maximum allowable two-year
extension of the commencement of construction deadline.
Accordingly, the deadline for the commencement of construction
is now January 12, 2016. Section 13 of the Federal Power Act
provides that, if construction does not timely commence, the
Commission must terminate the license. It is my understanding
that the licensee is encountering difficulty obtaining lands,
subject to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife conservation easement, that
are needed for construction of the project's primary
transmission line, such that the licensee believes that it may
not be able to commence project construction by the statutory
deadline.
The last several Commission Chairmen and I have taken the
position of not opposing legislation that would extend the
commencement of construction deadline no further than 10 years
from the date that the license in question was issued. Where
proposed extensions would run beyond that time, there has been
a sense that the public interest is better served by releasing
the site for other public uses. Because S. 1103 and S. 1104
provide for commencement of construction deadlines that do not
exceed 10 years from the dates that the respective licenses
were issued, I do not oppose these bills.
If I can be of further assistance to you on this or any
other Commission matter, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Norman C. Bay,
Chairman.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by S. 491, as ordered
reported.