From The Telluride Daily Planet (Colin McRann):
The bill is called the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act. With its unanimous passage in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, small hydro projects are one step closer to shedding some federal regulations. U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) reintroduced the bill to the House in January.
One of its major supporters is the Colorado Small Hydro Association. Johnson, who is president of the association, has been pushing for the bill’s passage for years because he says current hydropower regulations are unfit to address small hydro projects. “I hope that the Senate acts with the same enthusiasm that the House acted on,” Johnson said. “[If the bill passes] it will lead to development of new small hydro installations and job creation in rural Colorado.”[…]
If the new bill is passed into law, the regulatory process could be streamlined for certain small hydro projects. The bill, as written, provides periods of public comment and directs the Federal Energy Regulator Commission (FERC) to examine the feasibility of a two-year licensing process for certain low-impact hydropower projects. Some of the low-impact projects could include the conversion of existing non-powered dams into power-generating ones.
Historically, western Colorado has been home to a number of small hydroelectric projects, including the Bridal Veil hydroelectric power station above Telluride, the Ames Power Plant and the Ouray Hydroelectric Power Plant. However, new developments with small hydropower projects have not been common in recent years.
The bill states that a significant amount of new hydroelectric generation could come from maximizing existing infrastructure, particularly non-powered dams. It states that only about 3 percent of the nation’s 80,000 dams currently generate hydropower…
To see the full text of H.R. 267, go to govtrack.us.