To amend the Federal Power Act with respect to the criteria and process to qualify as a qualifying conduit hydropower facility.

Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of bipartisanship, I won't talk exclusively about the Broncos today. Instead, I want to thank Representative Hudson for working with me on the bill. It has been a pleasure.

I also want to thank Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Rush and Energy and Commerce Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone for helping us work on this important bill. It is really an example of what we can accomplish when we put partisanship aside and work to address our country's needs.

Hydropower is a clean, domestic energy source. Over the last 2 years, it has provided almost 6 percent of U.S. electricity and almost half of all renewable electricity. It also supports hundreds of thousands of good jobs across the country.

As a westerner, I know how important water is to our environment and to our communities, and I am committed to advancing hydropower in a way that both respects existing water rights and minimizes environmental disruption.

Hydropower is often associated with large-scale projects like dams, but I have been particularly interested in

smaller-scale projects attached to existing infrastructure, including irrigation canals and municipal water supply systems.

As Mr. Rush noted, in 2013, I worked with Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, another westerner, to pass the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act. That bill became law, and it established a process for qualifying conduit hydropower facilities to move forward without requiring a license from FERC.

A lot of people in western Colorado told me that this was one of the most important bills that they had ever seen come out of Congress, only demonstrating that all politics is local. Even though maybe it didn't seem so important to some people here at the time, 83 hydropower projects have been successfully promoted using the new process, including 23 projects in Colorado. This progress is encouraging, but there is even more we can do.

The Colorado government estimates that existing agricultural irrigation conduits in our State could support an additional 30 megawatts of hydropower, and municipal water supply systems could support another 20 to 25 megawatts. But to realize this potential, we need to listen to the advice that the Energy and Commerce Committee has heard on how to make the process as simple and flexible as possible.

We have heard testimony from FERC that the existing comment period is rarely used for comments that have a bearing on determining whether the project qualifies under the statute. In response, the bill we are considering today would shorten the comment period from 45 to 30 days to avoid unnecessary delays.

Second, FERC suggested lifting the megawatt cap on qualifying conduit projects. The amount of energy demonstrated by a hydroelectric project is not a good indication of its environmental impact. In fact, any project built on existing conduit infrastructure will have little to no environmental impact because it is using water that has already been diverted from its natural course.

The bill would not change the requirement in existing law that the project be built on a conduit that is primarily intended for non-power generating uses, further limiting the potential for any environmental impact.

Together, these two changes will open the door to more conduit hydropower projects without compromising important environmental protections.

Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to emphasize that bill shows what Congress can accomplish when we work together in a bipartisan manner to address our country's needs now and in the future. I urge everyone to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2786, the Promoting Small Conduit Hydropower Facilities Act of 2017.

In 2013, our committee moved bipartisan legislation by Representative McMorris Rodgers and Representative DeGette that created an exemption from hydropower licensing for certain conduit hydropower facilities of 5 megawatts capacity or less.

Under the provision established in the McMorris Rodgers-DeGette bill, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, must determine within 15 days after receipt of a notice of intent to construct a small conduit project by the developer if the project meets the qualifying criteria for exemption under the law.

If FERC makes an initial determination that the project meets that criteria, current law requires FERC to publish a public notice of that determination and provide the public 45 days for an opportunity to comment on or contest FERC's determination.

That bill went on to be signed into law by President Obama and, as of May of this year, has resulted in qualifying 83 projects being exempted from Federal licensing requirements.

The bill before us now, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2786, sponsored by Mr. Hudson and Ms. DeGette, will amend the Federal Power Act to lift the 5- megawatt cap on conduit projects that could qualify for exemption. The bill would also reduce from 45 days to 30 days the amount of time the public will have to comment on or contest FERC's determination of whether a project qualifies for exception.

There is clearly strong support on both sides of the aisle for the development of conduit hydroelectric projects and for efforts like the Hudson-DeGette bill, which cuts red tape to ensure that environmentally sound projects can move forward quickly and efficiently.

However, Mr. Speaker, the original version of this bill cut the 45- day timeframe for public comment on a proposed exemption too much, down to 15 days. That, in my view, Mr. Speaker, and that of many of my colleagues, was too short a period of time to allow for meaningful public input into the process.

Fortunately and wisely, Mr. Speaker, Chairman Upton and Chairman Walden accepted an amendment by Ranking Member Pallone that reduced the amount of time for public notification by a third, from 45 days to 30 days, rather than the 15 days that many of us felt was excessive.

As a result, we now have a bill that is good policy, that cuts down on unnecessary regulation, while properly balancing the interests of hydropower development with that of the public.

The bill was rightfully reported by the committee with the unanimous support of Members on both sides of the aisle, and I hope the full House will do the same today.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), the cosponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2786) to amend the Federal Power Act with respect to the criteria and process to qualify as a qualifying conduit hydropower facility, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, this bill, H.R. 2786, introduced by my two colleagues, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson) and the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), has always been a bipartisan bill. It amends the Federal Power Act to promote renewable energy from small conduit hydropower facilities.

The bill would encourage the generation of electricity from existing manmade conduits operated for the distribution of water for agriculture, municipal, or industrial consumption.

I would note that Congress established qualifying conduit exemptions under the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013. This bill, H.R. 2786, builds on that law to provide benefits to a greater range of conduit hydropower projects. This bill, in fact, will shorten the review period and allow larger conduit projects to be eligible for exemption from certain listing requirements.

I know of no serious objections to the bill. It is bipartisan, as it should be. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson), the original author of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to comment briefly on the remarks by my two colleagues.

This is an important bill, and for those of us who have always supported all of the above, whether it be renewable or safe nuclear, all those different things, hydro is part of that mix.

I would just note that I had a question yesterday morning. I did a big Farm Bureau breakfast in my district, and the question about hydropower came up. Just like my friend from Colorado talks about the most important bill in Colorado, this is an important bill.

It is also important that we work together to get this bill done so that the Senate can follow suit. I urge my colleagues to vote for this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2786, my bipartisan legislation focused on tapping our Nation's immense conduit hydropower potential.

Hydropower remains one of the most efficient and affordable sources of electricity, as well as one of the largest sources of renewable electricity in America. In North Carolina alone, it generates enough electricity to power 350,000 homes each year.

The opportunity is tremendous. Picture a tiny turbine placed in an existing man-made pipe that transports water from a water treatment plant. We can produce clean electric power inside these types of man- made conduits. There are over 1.2 million miles of water supply mains in the United States creating literally thousands of energy-recovery hydropower generation opportunities. This technology is readily available and environmentally friendly, but Federal regulations have discouraged and stifled the development.

That is exactly why I introduced this commonsense bill with my colleague, Diana DeGette, whom I will say, even though her Broncos defeated my Panthers in the Super Bowl a couple years ago, it has really been a pleasure to work with on this.

What we are working on is to streamline the Federal review process for noncontroversial conduit hydropower projects and make the projects eligible for streamlined consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to expand the development of conduit hydropower projects, create clean energy jobs, increase production of affordable renewable power, reduce consumer electricity costs, and improve energy diversity.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, on Tuesday, July 18, I was unavoidably detained on constituency business.

On rollcall vote No. 382, motion on ordering the previous question on the rule, if I had been present, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 383, House Resolution 451 covering H.R. 806, if I had been present, I would have voted ``no.''

On rollcall vote No. 384 on H.R. 2786, if I had been present, regarding qualifying conduit hydropower facility by Mr. Hudson, I would have voted ``yes.''