[House Report 108-721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Rept. 108-721
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 2
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TAPOCO PROJECT LICENSING ACT OF 2004
_______
October 6, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
state of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4667]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4667) to authorize and facilitate hydroelectric power
licensing of the Tapoco Project, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4667 is to authorize and facilitate
hydroelectric power licensing of the Tapoco Project, and for
other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
In 1999, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (APGI), the operator
of the Tapoco Project, a system of four hydropower dames on the
Little Tennessee and Cheoah rivers that straddle the North
Carolina-Tennessee border, began work on a re-licensing
application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) to continue to operate the Tapoco Project. During the
re-licensing process, APGI discovered that a portion of the
project, known as Chilhowee Reservoir, inundates approximately
two miles of government-owned lands along Abrams Creek and
three other streams within the boundary of the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park. The Federal Power Act and the Park's
enabling legislation specifically prohibit hydropower projects
within the Park. Thus, FERC does not have the legal authority
to issue the license for the hydropower projects that flood
lands within authorized national park boundaries. The record
from the 1950s and earlier of how the licensing was allowed to
initially occur is unclear.
To resolve this situation, H.R. 4667 would require the
Secretary of the Interior to transfer approximately 100 acres
of submerged lands within the Park along several creeks to APGI
and grant jurisdiction to FERC to re-license the Project. In
exchange, the Park would receive fee title to 186 acres of
forested uplands within the boundary that APGI owns and retain
management and enforcement rights over 100 acres transferred to
APGI. Meanwhile, in a related matter not included in the bill,
but contingent on the success of passage of the bill and the
re-licensing effort is a Settlement Agreement developed among
APGI, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service,
the States of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians, local governments and several NGOs. The
Settlement Agreement includes the following: (1) the Nature
Conservancy (TNC) will donate a 400 acre permanent conservation
easement within the Park boundary; (2) APGI will donate
conservation easements to the TNC on several parcels of land;
and (3) APGI will establish a mitigation fund for the project
area in Tennessee that will make $100,000 annually to the
National Park Service and other Federal and State agencies.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4667 was introduced by Congressman John Duncan (R-TN)
on June 23, 2004. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and additionally to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce. Within the Resources Committee, the bill was referred
to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public
Lands and the Subcommittee on Water and Power. On September 14,
2004, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public
Lands held a hearing on the bill. On September 15, 2004, the
Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands and
the Subcommittee on Water and Power were discharged from
further consideration by unanimous consent. No amendments were
offered and the bill was then favorably reported to the House
of Representatives byunanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to authorize and facilitate
hydroelectric power licensing of the Tapoco Project, and for
other purposes.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 17, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4667, the Tapoco
Project Licensing Act of 2004.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Robinson
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 4667--Tapoco Project Licensing Act of 2004
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4667 would cost $6
million over the 2005-2009 period, assuming appropriation of
the necessary amounts. Enacting the bill would not affect
direct spending or revenues. H.R. 4667 contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no significant
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
H.R. 4667 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
exchange 100 acres of land within the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park in Tennessee for 186 acres of other land within
the authorized boundary of that park owned by Alcoa Power
Generating Inc. (APGI). APGI would use the land it receives for
the Tapoco Hydroelectric Project. According to the National
Park Service (NPS), the federal land to be conveyed currently
generates no receipts and is not expected to do so over the
next 10 years. Hence, we estimate that the proposed exchange
would not affect offsetting receipts (a credit against direct
spending). We estimate that the agency would spend about
$30,000 in 2005 to complete the transaction, assuming the
availability of appropriated funds.
H.R. 4667 also would authorize the Secretaries of
Agriculture and the Interior to acquire certain other land that
is currently owned by APGI. Based on information from APGI and
local tax assessors regarding the value of that land, CBO
estimates that the federal government would spend $6 million
over the 2006-2009 period to acquire that land, assuming
appropriation of the necessary funds. We also estimate that any
resulting increase in federal spending for land management
would total less than $500,000 a year.
On June 23, 2004, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
2319, the Tapoco Project Licensing Act of 2004, as ordered
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources on June 16, 2004. H.R. 4667 and S. 2319 are similar,
and our cost estimates are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing
law.