To provide for a memorandum of understanding to address the impacts of a certain record of decision on the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund.
H.R. 1001 would require the Secretary of the Interior (through the Commissioner of Reclamation) and the Secretary of Energy (through the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration), in coordination with the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group, to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU would study and address potential impacts of the July 2024 supplement to the 2016 Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan Record of Decision (ROD) on the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund. The plan must use information from existing hydropower contracts and address: (1) how the ROD could affect Fund obligations for routine operations, maintenance, and replacement of critical infrastructure; (2) how the ROD could impact hydropower production at Glen Canyon Dam and related costs and grid reliability; and (3) how the ROD could affect species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The act includes a savings clause preserving rights or obligations under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). In short, the bill creates a coordinated, interagency planning process to anticipate and mitigate financial, operational, and ecological effects of a specific Glen Canyon Dam decision on the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund.
Key Points
- 1Establishes an obligation for the Interior and Energy secretaries to enter into an MOU, with input from the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group.
- 2Focuses on the impacts of the July 2024 supplement to the LTEMP ROD for Glen Canyon Dam on the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund.
- 3The resulting plan must cover:
- 4- Effects on Fund obligations for routine operations, maintenance, and replacement of critical infrastructure.
- 5- Effects on Glen Canyon Dam hydropower production, including costs to replace hydropower resources and impacts on grid reliability.
- 6- Impacts on ESA-listed species (threatened or endangered) potentially affected by the ROD or related operations.
- 7Requires the plan to derive information from existing hydropower contracts.
- 8Includes a savings clause that preserves rights and obligations under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).