WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), today announced a markup for Thursday, June 22, 2017, at 10 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
#SubEnergy has been hard at work this Congress examining opportunities to modernize the nation’s energy infrastructure. In February, the subcommittee held a hearing examining the country’s evolving energy infrastructure and barriers to innovation, modernization, and further job creation and economic growth. In March, the subcommittee examined ways to promote new infrastructure by improving the process to review and license hydropower projects.
Building on these previous hearings, the subcommittee held a legislative hearing on several bills related to pipeline and hydropower infrastructure modernization in May. The legislation to be considered at Thursday’s markup was informed through the committee’s previous hearings.
The subcommittee will consider the following bills:
H.R. ____, Hydropower Policy Modernization Act of 2017, would;
* Modernize federal policies by designating the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as the lead agency for licensing hydropower projects. The legislation would promote affordable, reliable, and renewable hydropower energy.
H.R.____, Enhancing State Energy Security Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act, would;
* Enhance the energy emergency planning requirements of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to strengthen the capability of states to secure the energy infrastructure of the United States against physical and cybersecurity threats; and mitigate the risk of energy supply disruptions.
H.R. 2786, to amend the Federal Power Act with respect to the criteria and process to qualify a qualifying conduit hydropower facility, authored by committee member Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), would;
* Promote the development of small conduit hydropower facilities, an emerging new source of renewable energy that can be added to existing infrastructure.
H.R. 2883, Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act, authored by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), would;
* Establish a predictable and transparent process to permit the construction of cross-border pipelines and electric transmission facilities.
H.R. 2910, Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act, authored by committee member Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX), would;
* Promote better coordination among FERC and other agencies involved in siting interstate natural gas pipelines. H.R. 2910 also increases transparency and accountability by requiring more information be disclosed to the public.
“Hydropower is responsible for providing almost 7 percent of the nation’s total energy needs and is one of the cleanest forms of energy. The regulatory environment for hydropower has become increasingly complex and mired in bureaucratic red tape and unfortunately the same can be said as it relates to the permitting process for natural gas pipelines and cross-border energy infrastructure," said Chairman Upton. “Thursday’s markup is the next step in our work to modernize the nation’s energy infrastructure, increase access to affordable and reliable energy, create jobs, and lower prices for consumers."
Electronic copies of the legislation and a background memo can be found on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s website here. Amendment text and votes will be available at the same link as they are posted. See Also
* Subcommittee Vote on H.R. 2786; H.R. 2883; H.R. 2910; H.R. ___, Hydropower Policy Modernization Act of 2017; and H.R. ___, Enhancing State Energy Security Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2017
