Napolitano (D-CA) – Amendment #1 – Strikes the bill’s NEPA waiver provision and increases the megawatt limitation in the bill from 5 to 15. This amendment eliminates regulatory relief provisions aimed at jumpstarting hydropower at existing man-made facilities that have already gone through environmental review. The megawatt increase is functionally meaningless since all Bureau of Reclamation conduit hydropower projects would be under 5 megawatts.
Y 189
N 232
Tipton (R-CO) – Amendment #2 – Makes a number of technical changes and clarifications to the bill.
Adopted Voice
Y ✓
N
Tipton (R-CO) – Amendment #3 – Replaces the NEPA waiver provision with language directing the Bureau of Reclamation to apply its NEPA categorical exclusion (CE) process on small conduit hydropower projects, excluding siting of associated transmission facilities on Federal lands. This essentially codifies the Bureau’s existing CE policy but specifies that it applies to projects in the bill, which will reduce potential litigation and give regulatory certainty since the existing CE is inadequate in these areas.
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