OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act

Date: June 8, 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Energy Environment

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Mr. CHAFFETZ. 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.

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