National Dam and Hydropower Safety Improvements Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2309 To improve dam and hydropower safety, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 1, 2021 Mrs. DINGELL (for herself and Mr. MOOLENAAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To improve dam and hydropower safety, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Dam and Hy- 4 dropower Safety Improvements Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DAM SAFETY CONDITIONS. 6 Section 10 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803) 7 is amended by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(k) That the dam and other project works meet the 9 Commission’s dam safety requirements and that the li- 10 censee shall continue to manage, operate, and maintain 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2309.IH H2309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2309 IH the dam and other project works in a manner that ensures 1 dam safety and public safety under the operating condi- 2 tions of the license.’’. 3 SEC. 3. DAM SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. 4 Section 15 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 808) 5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(g) The Commission may issue a new license under 7 this section only if the Commission determines that the 8 dam and other project works covered by the license meet 9 the Commission’s dam safety requirements and that the 10 licensee can continue to manage, operate, and maintain 11 the dam and other project works in a manner that ensures 12 dam safety and public safety under the operating condi- 13 tions of the new license.’’. 14 SEC. 4. VIABILITY PROCEDURES. 15 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall es- 16 tablish procedures to assess the financial viability of an 17 applicant for a license under the Federal Power Act (16 18 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) to— 19 (1) meet applicable dam safety requirements; 20 and 21 (2) operate the dam and project works under 22 the license. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2309.IH H2309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2309 IH SEC. 5. FERC DAM SAFETY TECHNICAL CONFERENCE WITH 1 STATES. 2 (a) TECHNICAL CONFERENCE.—Not later than April 3 1, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, act- 4 ing through the Director of the Office of Energy Projects, 5 shall hold a technical conference with the States to discuss 6 and provide information on— 7 (1) dam maintenance and repair; 8 (2) Risk Informed Decision Making; 9 (3) climate and hydrological regional changes 10 that may affect the structural integrity of dams; and 11 (4) high hazard dams. 12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 13 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 14 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 15 (c) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 16 ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given such term in section 3 of 17 the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 18 SEC. 6. REQUIRED DAM SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS BE- 19 TWEEN FERC AND STATES. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, acting through 21 the Director of the Office of Energy Projects, shall notify 22 each State within which a project is located when— 23 (1) the Commission issues a finding, following 24 a dam safety inspection, that requires the licensee 25 for such project to take actions to repair the dam 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2309.IH H2309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2309 IH and other project works that are the subject of such 1 finding; 2 (2) after a period of 5 years starting on the 3 date a finding under paragraph (1) is issued, the li- 4 censee has failed to take actions to repair the dam 5 and other project works; and 6 (3) the Commission initiates a non-compliance 7 proceeding or otherwise takes steps to revoke a li- 8 cense due to the failure of a licensee to take actions 9 to repair a dam and other project works. 10 (b) NOTICE UPON REVOCATION, SURRENDER, OR IM- 11 PLIED SURRENDER OF A LICENSE.—If the Commission 12 issues an order to revoke a license or approve the sur- 13 render or implied surrender of a license under the Federal 14 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.), the Commission shall 15 provide to the State within which the project that relates 16 to such license is located— 17 (1) all records pertaining to the structure and 18 operation of the applicable dam and other project 19 works, including, as applicable, any dam safety in- 20 spection reports by independent consultants, speci- 21 fications for required repairs or maintenance of such 22 dam and other project works that have not been 23 completed, and estimates of the costs for such re- 24 pairs or maintenance; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2309.IH H2309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2309 IH (2) all records documenting the history of main- 1 tenance or repair work for the applicable dam and 2 other project works; 3 (3) information on the age of the dam and 4 other project works and the hazard classification of 5 the dam and other project works; 6 (4) the most recent assessment of the condition 7 of the dam and other project works by the Commis- 8 sion; 9 (5) as applicable, the most recent hydrologic in- 10 formation used to determine the potential maximum 11 flood for the dam and other project works; and 12 (6) the results of the most recent risk assess- 13 ment completed on the dam and other project works. 14 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section: 15 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 16 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 17 (2) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ has the 18 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 19 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 20 (3) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ has the 21 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal 22 Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796). 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2309.IH H2309 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS