H.R. 626

119 HR 626 IH: Northwest Energy Security Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-01-22
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I
 119th CONGRESS  1st Session
 H. R. 626
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 January 22, 2025
  Mr. Newhouse  (for himself,  Mr. Baumgartner ,  Mr. Fulcher , and  Mr. Bentz ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Natural Resources , and in addition to the  Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
 A BILL
To provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
The Act may be cited as the   Northwest Energy Security Act  .
2.
Definitions
In this Act:
(1)
FCRPS
The term  FCRPS  means those portions of the Federal Columbia River Power System that are the subject of the Supplemental Opinion.
(2)
Secretaries
The term  Secretaries  means—
(A)
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation;
(B)
the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration; and
(C)
the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.
(3)
Supplemental Opinion
The term  Supplemental Opinion  means the document entitled  Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision  and dated September 2020.
3.
Operation of FCRPS
The Secretaries shall operate the FCRPS in a manner consistent with the reasonable and prudent alternative described in the Supplemental Opinion.
4.
Amendments to supplemental opinion
(a)
In general
Notwithstanding section 3, the Secretaries may amend portions of the Supplemental Opinion and operate the FCRPS in accordance with those amendments if all of the Secretaries determine, in the sole discretion of each Secretary, that—
(1)
the amendment is necessary for public safety or transmission and grid reliability; or
(2)
the actions, operations, or other requirements that the amendment would remove are no longer warranted.
(b)
Restriction on amendments
The process described in subsection (a) shall be the only method by which the Secretaries may operate the FCRPS in any way that is not consistent with the reasonable and prudent alternative set forth in the Supplemental Opinion.
5.
Limitation on restricting FCRPS electrical generation; clarification
(a)
Restricting FCRPS electrical generation
No structural modification, action, study, or engineering plan that restricts electrical generation at any FCRPS hydroelectric dam, or that limits navigation on the Snake River in the State of Washington, Oregon, or Idaho, shall proceed unless such proposal is specifically and expressly authorized by a Federal statute enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b)
Clarification
Nothing in this section affects or interferes with the authority of the Secretaries to conduct operation and maintenance activities or make capital improvements necessary to meet authorized project purposes of FCRPS facilities.