H.R. 678: “The Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act” will not become law because it exempts certain hydropower project from environmental reviews.
*Get all the details in podcast episode CD022: Crippling the Regulators.
Passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, April 10th, 2013.
Section 2: Authorization
- Authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to approve small, private hydropower projects on existing waterways owned by the government.
- Exempts small hydro-power from environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
It is unlikely that H.R. 678 will be passed by the Senate or signed into law by President Obama.