[Senate Report 115-82]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 101
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-82
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TO EXTEND THE DEADLINE FOR COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN
HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS
_______
May 24, 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. 730]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 730) to extend the deadline for
commencement of construction of certain hydroelectric projects,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 730 is to extend the deadline for
commencement of construction of the Gathright and Flannagan
hydroelectric projects in Virginia.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission)
issued an original license for the Flannagan Hydroelectric
Project (No. 12740) in Dickinson County, Virginia, on January
27, 2012. Pursuant to section 13 of the Federal Power Act (FPA,
16 U.S.C. 806), the licensee was required to commence project
construction within two years. At the licensee's request, the
Commission extended the deadline by two years, until January
27, 2016.
The Commission issued an original license for the Gathright
Project (No. 12737) in Alleghany County, Virginia, on March 13,
2012, and subsequently extended the construction commencement
deadline at the licensee's request by two years, until March
13, 2016.
Construction has not yet begun on either project, and the
Commission has granted the maximum extensions allowed by the
FPA.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Kaine introduced S. 730 on March 27, 2017.
In the 114th Congress, a similar measure was included in
Amendment No. 3234, which the Senate agreed to on April 19,
2016, as an amendment to S. 2012, the Energy Policy
Modernization Act of 2016, which the Senate passed, as amended,
on April 20, 2016.
In the House of Representatives, Representative Griffith
introduced H.R. 4411, to extend the deadline for the Gathright
project, and H.R. 4412, to extend the deadline for the
Flannagan project, on February 1, 2016. Both bills passed the
House of Representatives by voice vote on March 14, 2016.
In the 115th Congress, Representative Griffith introduced
companion measures, H.R. 446, related to the Gathright Project,
and H.R. 447, related to the Flannagan project, in the House of
Representatives on January 11, 2017.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered S. 730
favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 730.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 authorizes the Commission to extend, for up to
six years, the commencement of construction deadline for two
projects: the Flannagan Hydroelectric Project (No. 12740), to
be located at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) John W.
Flannagan Dam and Reservoir, on the Pound River in Dickinson
County, Virginia, and the Gathright Hydroelectric Project (No.
12737), to be located at the Corps' Gathright Dam in Alleghany
County, Virginia. This section also authorizes the Commission
to reinstate the license for either project 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 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:
CBO estimates that implementing S. 730 would have no net
effect on the federal budget. The bill would authorize the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reinstate the
licenses and extend the deadline for beginning construction of
two hydroelectric projects in Virginia: the Gathright
Hydroelectric Project (number 12737) and the Flannagan
Hydroelectric Project (number 12740). The proposed extensions
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. 730 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting S. 730 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 730 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. 730. 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. 730, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 730, as ordered 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
Executive Communications were not requested by the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the 115th
Congress.
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 the bill as ordered
reported.