Hoover Power Allocation Act of 2010

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Madam Speaker, H.R. 4349 would update the statutory allocation of electric power generated at the Hoover Dam, located on the Colorado River, to its various users. The current allocation of this hydropower resource expires at the end of fiscal year 2017.

In this regard, H.R. 4349 would increase the amount of electricity to be marketed by the Western Area Power Administration, known as WAPA, and provide to Native American tribes and other previously excluded entities the opportunity to acquire Federal power. The revised allocation would remain in effect from 2017 to 2067.

H.R. 4349 has 43 bipartisan cosponsors. This hydroelectric generation, which provides a renewable, affordable, and accessible resource to the American Southwest, is, in this bill, being made now available to additional users through this legislation. Western Area Power has committed to implement a full and transparent process in the allocation of this resource. We expect that the State regulatory agencies of Arizona and Nevada will follow the same procedures and commitment to an impartial and unbiased allocation determination.

Hydropower is a valuable resource for our country. The 50-year time frame for allocation of this resource matches the commitment by collaborators to fund the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program. The conservation program is a nationally recognized example of how diverse stakeholders can, together, find solutions without litigation that allow everyone to use the Lower Colorado River to promote economic growth while supporting compliance with the Endangered Species Act and then protecting more than 100 species which the Lower Colorado River floodplain has within the river.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 4349, and I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT.

Source