The Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 () is a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

that was introduced into the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

of the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Presidency of Barack Obama, Barack Obama's presiden ...

on January 15, 2013. It passed the House on February 13, 2013 by a vote of 422-0. President Obama signed the Act into law on August 9, 2013. The Bill is intended to change some of the regulations in the United States surrounding

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

by making it easier to develop smaller-output hydropower stations. According to the bill's proponents, current regulations are unwieldy and represent a significant hurdle to creating more hydropower plants. The Bill would alter those regulations to make it easier for smaller plants to get approval quickly. The legislation also requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to study how to further improve the regulatory process. The Bill would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) and the

Federal Power Act The Federal Power Act is a law appearing in Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the United States Code, entitled "Federal Regulation and Development of Power". Enacted as the Federal Water Power Act on June 10, 1920, and amended many times since, its origina ...

. Currently, hydropower projects that produce 5,000 kilowatts or less of power do not require certain licenses. The Bill would raise that amount to 10,000 kilowatts, facilitating the speed at which smaller hydropower projects could be built. The existing rules mean that it takes about five years for hydropower projects to get approval, according to hydropower industry sources. Hydropower is a significant source of

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

in the United States. The

National Hydropower Association The National Hydropower Association (NHA) represents the interests of the U.S. hydropower industry, which includes all forms of water energy—conventional, hydrokinetic, tidal and ocean. Since 1983, NHA has represented the majority of domestic, no ...

(NHA) conducted a study that concluded that "the United States could add approximately 60,000 MW of new hydropower capacity by 2025, potentially creating as many as 700,000 jobs in the process," according to the Committee Report released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee when it referred the Bill to the floor.

Background

A similar bill, , was introduced in the

112th United States Congress The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...

, where it passed the House by a vote of 372-0, but was never voted on in the Senate.

Procedural history

House

The Bill was introduced into the House on January 15, 2013 by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). It was sent to the

United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more tha ...

and the

United States House Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Power The Subcommittee on Energy and Power is a subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. ...

. It passed the House by a vote of 422-0 on February 13, 2013.

Senate

After passing in the House, the Bill was referred to the

United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recla ...

on February 14, 2013. A ranking member of the Committee, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told ''The Hill'' that she expected the Bill to pass in the Senate as well. Power Magazine also reported that chances for passage in the Senate looked good.

Provisions/Elements of the bill

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

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, a

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source.'' Section 1 of the Bill provides the short title of the bill, "Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013", and gives a table of contents for the bill. Section 2 of the Bill provides the "Findings" of Congress. It has a short description of facts that Congress lists as a way to provide context for why they are writing the bill and want to make this new law. In this bill, Congress lists the number of Americans who work in the

industry (approximately 300, 000), the number of

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

s in the United States that are used to produce power (less than 3% of 80, 000), and that hydropower provides 7% of the energy generated in the United States. Section 3 of the Bill would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to increase from 5,000 to 10,000

kilowatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

the size of small

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

projects which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may exempt from its license requirements. Section 4 of the Bill would amend the

to revise the limitation on the maximum installation capacity of qualifying conduit hydropower facilities that are eligible for an exemption from licensing requirements. It would also require any person, state, or municipality proposing to construct a qualifying

conduit hydroelectricity Conduit hydroelectricity (or conduit hydropower) is a method of using mechanical energy of water as part of the water delivery system through man-made conduits to generate electricity. Generally, the conduits are existing water pipelines such as in ...

facility to file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) a notice of intent to do so. It would require FERC, within 15 days after receiving such a notice of intent, to make an initial determination as to whether the facility meets the qualifying criteria. The Bill would then waive the license requirements for any

Conduit hydroelectricity Conduit hydroelectricity (or conduit hydropower) is a method of using mechanical energy of water as part of the water delivery system through man-made conduits to generate electricity. Generally, the conduits are existing water pipelines such as in ...

facility that: :(1) uses for electric power generation only the hydroelectric potential of a non-federally owned conduit, :(2) has a maximum installed capacity of 5

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

, and :(3) is not currently licensed or exempted from license requirements. The bill then redefines "conduit" to specify any tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar man-made water conveyance operated for the distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of electricity. The new law would authorize the FERC to: :(1) exempt from license requirements any electric power generation facility that utilizes for such generation only the hydroelectric potential of a conduit, and has an installed capacity or 40 megawatts or fewer; and, in section 5, the FERC would be authorized to :(2) extend the preliminary permit period for up to 2 additional years beyond the 3 years otherwise allowed if it finds that the permittee has implemented activities under the permit in

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and with reasonable diligence. Section 6 of the Bill would direct the FERC to: :(1) investigate the feasibility of issuing a license for hydropower development at nonpowered dams and closed loop pumped storage projects during a two-year period, and :(2) hold workshops and develop hydropower pilot projects. Finally, Section 7 would direct the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...

to study: :(1) the technical flexibility that existing pumped storage facilities can provide to support intermittent renewable electric energy generation, including the potential for such facilities to be upgraded or retrofitted with advanced commercially available technology; and :(2) the technical potential of existing pumped storage facilities and new advanced pumped storage facilities to provide grid reliability benefits. A year after the enactment of the Bill, should it become law, the Department of Energy would be required to submit a report about the results of this study to the

and the

and provide any suggestions it has based on the results of the study.

Perception and impact

Some environmental groups, such as

American Rivers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, support the bill because it primarily addresses only very small power plants, which are less disruptive to the environment than the much larger megadams many environmental groups oppose.

Congressional Budget Office

The

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...

report on the Bill indicates that it would have no significant net impact on the federal budget. The changes made by the bill would reduce the workload for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The studies the bill requires the Department of Energy to make are similar to on-going studies of hydropower and would not require much additional funding.

Notes/References

External links

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) summary of the lawThomas (thomas.loc.gov)

beta.congress.gov H.R. 267GovTrack.us H.R. 267OpenCongress.org H.R. 267Republican Party's H.R. 267 pageCongressional Budget Office's Report on H.R. 267
{{US government sources Acts of the 113th United States Congress Hydroelectricity in the United States Water law in the United States Renewable energy policy in the United States Energy policy of the United States Electric power in the United States Energy infrastructure in the United States United States federal energy legislation Renewable energy in the United States