SB 140: "An Act relating to regulation and licensing of certain water-power development projects."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 140 01 "An Act relating to regulation and licensing of certain water-power development 02 projects." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 42.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Article 6A. Water-Power Development Projects. 06 Sec. 42.45.350. Licensing of water-power development projects. (a) The 07 commission shall adopt regulations to establish a regulatory program for water-power 08 development projects that qualify under this section. 09 (b) The regulatory program established under this section must 10 (1) protect the public interest, the purposes listed in (2) of this 11 subsection, and the environment to the same extent provided by the requirements for 12 licensing and regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under 16 13 U.S.C. 792 - 823c and other applicable federal laws, including 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 14 (Endangered Species Act) and 16 U.S.C. 661 et seq. (Fish and Wildlife Coordination
01 Act); 02 (2) give equal consideration to 03 (A) energy conservation; 04 (B) the protection of, mitigation of damage to, and 05 enhancement of, fish and wildlife, including related spawning grounds and 06 habitat; 07 (C) the protection of recreational opportunities; 08 (D) the preservation of other aspects of environmental quality; 09 (E) the interests of Alaska Natives; and 10 (F) other beneficial public uses, including irrigation, flood 11 control, water supply, navigation; and 12 (3) require, as a condition of a license for any qualifying project work, 13 (A) the construction, maintenance, and operation by a licensee 14 at the licensee's own expense of the lights and signals that may be directed by 15 the secretary of the department of the United States government in which the 16 United States Coast Guard is operating and the fishways that are prescribed by 17 the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate; 18 (B) the operation of any navigation facilities that may be 19 constructed as part of any project to be controlled at all times by the reasonable 20 rules and regulations that are adopted by the Secretary of the Army; and 21 (C) conditions for the protection of, mitigation of damage to, 22 and enhancement of fish and wildlife based on recommendations received 23 under 16 U.S.C. 661 et seq. (Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act) from the 24 National Marine Fisheries Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 25 and the state Department of Fish and Game. 26 (c) For purposes of this section, the term "qualifying project work" means a 27 project work 28 (1) that is not part of a project licensed under 16 U.S.C. 792 - 823c or 29 exempted from licensing under 16 U.S.C. 792 - 823c or under 16 U.S.C. 2705 (section 30 405 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978) before November 9, 2000; 31 (2) for which a preliminary permit, a license application, or an
01 application for an exemption from licensing has not been accepted for filing by the 02 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before November 9, 2000, unless the 03 application is withdrawn at the election of the applicant; 04 (3) that is part of a project that has a power production capacity of 05 5,000 kilowatts or less; 06 (4) that is located entirely within the boundaries of the state; and 07 (5) that is not located in whole or in part on an Indian reservation, a 08 conservation system unit as defined in 16 U.S.C. 3102 (sec. 102, Alaska National 09 Interest Lands Conservation Act), or on a segment of a river designated for study for 10 addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. 11 (d) In the case of nonqualifying project work that would be qualifying project 12 work but for the fact that the project has been licensed or exempted from licensing by 13 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before November 9, 2000, the licensee of 14 the project may elect to make the project subject to licensing and regulation by the 15 state under this section. 16 (e) With respect to projects located in whole or in part on a reservation, a 17 conservation system unit, or federal public land, a state license or exemption from 18 licensing is subject to 19 (1) the approval of the secretary of the federal department having 20 jurisdiction over those lands; and 21 (2) the conditions that the secretary may prescribe. 22 (f) The Regulatory Commission of Alaska shall notify the Federal Energy 23 Regulatory Commission not later than 30 days after making any significant 24 modification to its regulatory program under this section. 25 (g) In this section, 26 (1) ''federal public land'' means the land and interest in land owned by 27 the United States that is subject to private appropriation and disposal under public land 28 laws, but does not include a reservation; 29 (2) ''licensee'' means any person, state, or municipality licensed under 30 the provisions of 16 U.S.C. 797 and any assignee or successor in interest of the 31 licensee thereof;
01 (3) ''project'' means, notwithstanding the definition in AS 42.45.990, a 02 complete unit of improvement or development, consisting of a power house, all water 03 conduits, all dams and appurtenant works and structures, including navigation 04 structures, that are a part of the unit, and all storage, diverting, or forebay reservoirs 05 directly connected with the unit, the primary line or lines transmitting power from the 06 unit to the point of junction with the distribution system or with the interconnected 07 primary transmission system, all miscellaneous structures used and useful in 08 connection with the unit or any part of the unit, and all water rights, rights-of-way, 09 ditches, dams, reservoirs, land, or interests in land the use and occupancy of which are 10 necessary or appropriate in the maintenance and operation of the unit; 11 (4) ''project work'' means the physical structure of a project; 12 (5) ''reservation'' 13 (A) means a national forest; tribal land embraced within an 14 Indian reservation; a military reservation; other land and an interest in land 15 owned by the United States and withdrawn, reserved, or withheld from private 16 appropriation and disposal under the public land laws; and land and an interest 17 in land acquired and held for any public purposes; 18 (B) does not include a national monument or national park.