Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Utah, Mr. Jim Matheson, for introducing this important piece of legislation. It's been a pleasure to work with him and his staff in moving this bill forward as it does benefit both the districts and, truly, the population of the State of Utah and, consequently, the United States of America.

The facilities and beneficiaries of this bill are located, like you said, in both districts. And we, again, appreciate Mr. Matheson and his leadership on this issue.

The Diamond Fork System of the Bonneville Unit was constructed under the Central Utah Project Completion Act. The Bonneville Unit is a system of dams and pipelines and tunnels that transports water from the eastern mountains in Utah to the Wasatch front population centers.

This legislation allows for a hydropower developer to install up to 50 megawatts of clean, renewable, and emissions-free electricity at the existing Federal facilities in the Diamond Fork System. This will benefit the people of my district and the U.S. taxpayers in a variety of ways.

This legislation expands on the historical benefits of a proven green technology. Hydropower is the original green electricity that time and again has kept the lights on in the western United States. With an additional 50 megawatts of hydroenergy, combined with other wind, geothermal, and natural gas facilities, my district will again be at the forefront of America's balanced energy future.

This bill will be paid for by the power users, not the taxpayers. Once signed into law, this bill will generate money for the Federal Government by allowing a non-Federal developer to pay for the right to generate hydropower. Without passage, the Congressional Budget Office determines the existing facilities would not be developed anytime within the next decade because the initial investment would be uneconomical for potential developers.

This is a good, bipartisan bill that benefits the environment, the taxpayers, and the people of Utah. I urge my colleagues to support it. I again appreciate the bipartisan approach in developing this piece of legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2008) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the development of hydroelectric power on the Diamond Fork System of the Central Utah Project, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 2008, introduced by our colleague Representative Jim Matheson, would declare as final the cost allocation of $161 million to hydroelectric power generation on the Diamond Fork System in Utah and would defer those costs indefinitely in accordance with section 211 of the Central Utah Project Completion Act of 1992.

H.R. 2008 is a perfect example of a win-win situation. This legislation will facilitate the development of 50 megawatts of clean hydroelectric power while generating revenue for the government for the use of its water facilities. This has been another collaborative effort, and I am very glad that we are able to bring it to the floor.

I ask my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I certainly want to commend my colleagues for working on this particular bill, and I thank them very much for the bipartisan way this was carried out. Water has no boundaries, no color, no political designation, and we need to continue working on these issues that are going to help the American people be able to have clean, sustainable green power.

So, with that, I want to thank the staffs on both sides for their marvelous work.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2008, the Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act, bipartisan legislation that I introduced with my colleague, Rep. Chaffetz.

The Bonneville Unit is a large system of dams, pipelines and tunnels which bring water from the eastern mountains in Utah to the Wasatch front population centers. It was constructed as part of the completion of the Central Utah Project Completion Act in 1992.

One of the components of the Bonneville unit is the Diamond Fork Project. The Diamond Fork Project has the capability to generate up to 50 megawatts of hydroelectric power. My bill removes a barrier that is infringing on the ability to develop the hydropower.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Federal Government will receive payments totaling $2 million dollars over the 2010-2019 period as a result of the hydroelectric project.

The proposed hydroelectric project will be installed within existing structures of the Diamond Fork facility.

I'd like to thank the Water and Power Subcommittee for their tireless work on this bill and Subcommittee Chairwoman Grace Napolitano and House Natural Resources Chairman Rahall for their commitment to moving this bill forward.

This is common sense, bipartisan legislation that allows for development of clean hydropower at Diamond Fork. I urge my colleagues to support its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of the bill (H.R. 2008) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the development of hydroelectric power on the Diamond Fork System of the Central Utah Project, the Clerk be directed to carry out the modification that I have placed at the desk.