Testimony before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands-Committee on Resources

Testimony before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands-Committee on Resources
Kaweah Project

By the Honorable Devin Nunes

April 29, 2004

Good morning Chairman Radanovich and Ranking Member Christensen,

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on H.R. 3932, legislation I introduced to reauthorize Southern California Edison's use of a hydropower project in Sequoia National Park - known as the Kaweah Project.

In 1890, Congress created Sequoia and General Grant national parks and assigned the management of the parks to the Department of Interior until 1916 when the National Park Service was established. However, the Kaweah Project has its origins back to 1899 when it was constructed primarily on privately owned lands. Today, four of the Projects storage lakes are located within Sequoia National Park and this brings us to the need for the legislation.

Sections of the Project that are not located in the National Park are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Unfortunately, the Federal Power Act does not allow FERC to issue licenses for facilities within a National Park. Twice, Congress has given the Secretary of the Interior the authority to issue a permit to continue operations - the latest in 1986. This authorization allowed the Secretary to issue one 10 year permit, with one renewal which extends through
September 2006.

Consequently, I am seeking new authorization from Congress to allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue two additional 10 year renewals of the existing permit. This is not inconsistent with existing law or previous authorizations and would provide the Project operator confidence in managing their facilities for years to come. While these facilities only generate a few megawatts of power, we must be aware that power shortages are again predicted for California during the peak summer season. Furthermore, considering the air quality of the San Joaquin Valley, it is inexcusable to allow this clean and renewable energy source go to waste.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to testify before the subcommittee and I will make myself available for any questions you may have.