Hearing of the Water and Power Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee - "Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2011"

Statement

First, thank you to Chairman McClintock for holding this legislative hearing on the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2011. H.R 2842 is important legislation that will restore common-sense to federal regulations and ultimately lead to the expansion of clean, hydropower production at Bureau of Reclamation facilities in Arizona and across the country.

My district, Arizona's First Congressional District, is home to some of the country's most important large-scale multipurpose hydroelectric power generation infrastructure, such as the Glen Canyon Dam. The committee has spent a significant portion of its time examining excessive and burdensome federal policies and regulations that are handicapping this infrastructure, and in some cases, even threatening its livelihood. These types of nonsensical regulations create man-made shortages, which in turn lead to high unemployment and increased water, energy, and food prices and unnecessary taxpayer spending.

Unfortunately, it is not just our existing hydroelectric infrastructure that is hamstrung by excessive regulation. Our country is failing to fully tap its hydroelectric power generation potential. However, this failure is not due to the desire to develop these resources; this committee is going to hear from two Arizonans today that will say the potential and willingness in my state is there. It is simply the failure of federal policies to facilitate an environment that is conducive to this type of development. Instead of working with communities of interest, the federal government is dictating to them, which has proven to be counterproductive.

Chairman McClintock should be commended for his commitment to bringing legislation before this committee to address this failure of federal policy. A couple months ago, the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed H.R. 795 the Small-Scale Hydropower Enhancement Act of 2011, legislation I cosponsored that restoring common-sense and rationality to federal policy related to small-scale hydroelectric power generation, by removing bureaucratic paperwork that are making it too costly to install small facilities in water systems across rural Arizona.

Today, we are examining equally important legislation; legislation aimed at increasing clean hydropower generation, further diversifying the country's renewable energy portfolio, and creating local jobs via the expansion of production at Bureau of Reclamation facilities.

The Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2011, H.R. 2842, legislation Representative Tipton introduced, is another step restoring sanity to our federal policies. In light of how important this is to my district and my state, I was proud to join Mr. Tipton on this bill.

This bill authorizes more hydropower development at federal canals and pipelines, eliminates unnecessary paperwork associated with the National Environmental Policy Act while allowing for environmental protection and empowers the hard-working irrigators to develop conduit hydropower generation on facilities they already operate and maintain on behalf of the federal government.

Again I appreciate Chairman McClintock's commitment to examining and ultimately pushing an aggressive legislative agenda in this subcommittee that will halt the endless litigation and regulation that inflates the price of water and power in my state and across the West. I am committed, as a representative of a rural district that struggles, in part because the potential for these types of projects is stifled by unnecessary regulatory requirements and burdensome administrative costs. I would hope this common-sense legislation aimed at eliminating bureaucratic red tape would garner strong bipartisan support, much like H.R. 795.

Hydropower is a low cost, renewable, and emissions-free source of energy that provides low-cost electricity. It is an integral component of the long-term energy plan for my state and the nation. We must protect our existing hydropower infrastructure and find ways, like the legislation before us to expand smaller scale hydroelectric power generation. I look forward to continuing to work with Congressman Tipton to ensure the passage of H.R. 2842 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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