Official Summaries

Northwest Energy Security Act

This bill requires Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) operations to be consistent with the preferred alternative in a 2020 environmental impact statement (EIS) decision that focuses on the operations, maintenance, and configuration of dams in the system rather than wild fish restoration. The system includes dams in the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho.

Specifically, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bonneville Power Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must operate the FCRPS consistent with the Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision dated September 2020. Thus, Reclamation, the Bonneville Power Administration, and the Army Corps must follow the EIS rather than the 2023 Resilient Columbia Basin Initiative—and a supplemental EIS proposed in 2024—that focus on wild fish restoration in the Columbia Basin.

The EIS decision may be amended if each agency determines that (1) changes are necessary for public safety or electrical grid reliability, or (2) certain requirements in the decision are no longer necessary.

Further, the bill requires statutory authorization for any structural modification, action, study, or engineering plan that (1) restricts FCRPS hydroelectric dam generation; or (2) limits navigation on the Snake River in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 182 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 182

 To provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System 
 pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 22, 2025

Mr. Risch (for himself, Mr. Daines, Mr. Sheehy, Mr. Crapo, Ms. Lummis, 
 and Mr. Barrasso) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
     and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System 
 pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    The Act may be cited as the ``Northwest Energy Security Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) FCRPS.--The term ``FCRPS'' means those portions of the 
        Federal Columbia River Power System that are the subject of the 
        Supplemental Opinion.
            (2) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 
                the Commissioner of Reclamation;
                    (B) the Secretary of Energy, acting through the 
                Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration; 
                and
                    (C) the Secretary of the Army, acting through the 
                Chief of Engineers.
            (3) Supplemental opinion.--The term ``Supplemental 
        Opinion'' means the document entitled ``Columbia River System 
        Operations Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision'' 
        and dated September 2020.

SEC. 3. OPERATION OF FCRPS.

    The Secretaries shall operate the FCRPS in a manner consistent with 
the reasonable and prudent alternative described in the Supplemental 
Opinion.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO SUPPLEMENTAL OPINION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 3, the Secretaries may 
amend portions of the Supplemental Opinion and operate the FCRPS in 
accordance with those amendments if all of the Secretaries determine, 
in the sole discretion of each Secretary, that--
            (1) the amendment is necessary for public safety or 
        transmission and grid reliability; or
            (2) the actions, operations, or other requirements that the 
        amendment would remove are no longer warranted.
    (b) Restriction on Amendments.--The process described in subsection 
(a) shall be the only method by which the Secretaries may operate the 
FCRPS in any way that is not consistent with the reasonable and prudent 
alternative set forth in the Supplemental Opinion.

SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON RESTRICTING FCRPS ELECTRICAL GENERATION; 
              CLARIFICATION.

    (a) Restricting FCRPS Electrical Generation.--No structural 
modification, action, study, or engineering plan that restricts 
electrical generation at any FCRPS hydroelectric dam, or that limits 
navigation on the Snake River in the State of Washington, Oregon, or 
Idaho, shall proceed unless such proposal is specifically and expressly 
authorized by a Federal statute enacted after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
    (b) Clarification.--Nothing in this section affects or interferes 
with the authority of the Secretaries to conduct operation and 
maintenance activities or make capital improvements necessary to meet 
authorized project purposes of FCRPS facilities.
                                 <all>