[Senate Report 115-83]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 102
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-83
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TO EXTEND A PROJECT OF THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
INVOLVING THE CANNONSVILLE DAM
_______
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. 734]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 734) to extend a project of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission involving the Cannonsville Dam,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with
amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
1. On page 2, line 12, strike ``required date of'' and
insert ``period required for''.
2. On page 2, line 13, insert ``of the project'' after
``construction''.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 734 is to extend a project of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) involving the
Cannonsville Dam in New York.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Commission issued an original license to the City of
New York for the Cannonsville Project (No. 13287) on the
Delaware River on May 13, 2014. The license would allow the
City to construct and operate a 14.08-megawatt project on its
own Cannonsville Dam in New York State. The original license
required the commencement of project construction within two
years of the license issuance date, or by May 13, 2016. On
April 21, 2016, the Commission extended the deadline by two
years. Due to dam safety issues at the project site, and the
need to conduct engineering studies and redesign the project,
construction has yet to commence.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Gillibrand introduced S. 734 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.
Representatives Gibson, Engel, Tonko, and Collins
introduced a similar bill, H.R. 4434, in the House of
Representatives on February 2, 2016. H.R. 4434 passed the House
by a vote of 417-2 on March 16, 2016.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered S. 734
favorably reported, as amended.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open
business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 734, if
amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
During the consideration of S. 734 the Committee adopted
two amendments to make technical corrections.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 authorizes the Commission, at the request of the
licensee and after reasonable notice in accordance with
Commission procedures, to extend the time period during which
the licensee is required to commence project construction for
up to eight years. Section 1 also authorizes the Commission 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:
CBO estimates that implementing S. 734 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 13287) involving the Cannonsville
Hydroelectric Project in New York. The proposed extension could
have a minor effect on FERC 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. 734 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting S. 734 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 734 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. 734. 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. 734, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 734, 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.
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