H.R. 7487

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7487 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7487

To amend the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to encourage non-Federal 
hydropower development with respect to Bureau of Reclamation projects.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 11, 2026

Ms. Boebert (for herself and Mr. Gray) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to encourage non-Federal 
hydropower development with respect to Bureau of Reclamation projects.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Jobs and Hydropower Expansion 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO RECLAMATION PROJECT ACT.

Section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (53 Stat. 1194) 
is amended--
(1) by striking ``(1) The Secretary is authorized'' and 
inserting ``The Secretary is authorized'';
(2) by striking ``small conduit hydropower using Bureau of 
Reclamation facilities and pumped storage hydropower 
exclusively using Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs'' and 
inserting ``hydropower using all Bureau of Reclamation 
facilities'';
(3) by striking ``No contract relating to municipal water 
supply'' and inserting the following:
``(1) No contract relating to municipal water supply'';
(4) in paragraph (2)(A)--
(A) by striking ``applicable transferred conduit'' 
and inserting ``applicable transferred works 
facility'';
(B) by striking ``applicable reserved conduit'' and 
inserting ``applicable reserved works facility''; and
(C) by striking ``power privilege offer for a small 
conduit'' and inserting ``power privilege offer for 
the'';
(5) in paragraph (3), by striking ``small conduit'' and 
inserting ``applicable'';
(6) in paragraph (4), by striking ``small conduit 
hydropower'';
(7) in paragraph (6)--
(A) by striking ``conduit'' before ``hydropower 
generation''; and
(B) by striking ``transferred conduit'' and 
inserting ``transferred works facility'';
(8) in paragraph (7), by striking ``conduit'';
(9) in paragraph (8)--
(A) by inserting ``(referred to in this section as 
an `authorization')'' before ``issued by the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission'';
(B) by striking ``August 9, 2013,'' and inserting 
``the date of the enactment of the Rural Jobs and 
Hydropower Expansion Act''; and
(C) by adding at the end ``Any authorization issued 
by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with 
respect to a project shall remain in place until such 
authorization becomes inactive. As allowed by the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an authorization 
may be renewed and remain active. Once the 
authorization becomes inactive, project site 
jurisdiction shall shift to the Bureau of Reclamation 
exclusively.'';
(10) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10);
(11) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
``(9) Nothing in this section shall expand or otherwise 
amend the Bureau of Reclamation lease of power privilege 
authorities outside the project boundary.''; and
(12) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking subparagraphs (A), (C), (D), and 
(E);
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
subparagraph (A); and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Reserved works facility.--The term `reserved 
works facility' means those facilities owned by the 
Bureau of Reclamation where the Bureau of Reclamation 
has retained responsibility for carrying out operation 
and maintenance activities.
``(C) Transferred works facility.--The term 
`transferred works facility' means a project facility 
where the operations and maintenance of that facility 
is carried out by a non-Federal entity under the 
provisions of a formal operations and maintenance 
transfer contract.''.
<all>