Sponsors (2)
The bill directs coordinated analysis and planning to understand and respond to the July 2024 Record of Decision—improving preparedness for hydropower, infrastructure, and species impacts and preserving review rights—while imposing agency workload and creating risks of reduced hydropower output, higher electricity costs, and operational constraints for water and power users.
Utilities, grid operators, and customers will get an analysis of how the July 2024 Record of Decision affects hydropower production and grid reliability, supporting planning to replace lost generation if needed.
Local governments and water infrastructure managers will receive a coordinated plan clarifying how the Record of Decision affects Fund obligations for operations, maintenance, and critical infrastructure replacement.
Wildlife and conservation stakeholders will gain a formal assessment of the Record of Decision's impacts on ESA-listed species, informing potential mitigation and recovery actions.
If the Record of Decision reduces hydropower output, consumers and communities that rely on that generation could face higher electricity costs to replace lost generation.
Identifying impacts to ESA-listed species could prompt new regulatory actions or operational constraints on dam operations, which may limit water or power deliveries for some users.
Preparing the required memorandum of understanding and conducting the analyses will consume agency staff time and resources, potentially delaying other projects or increasing federal costs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Mike Lee · Last progress March 6, 2025
Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy to promptly enter into a memorandum of understanding, in consultation with the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group, to assess how the July 2024 Record of Decision for Glen Canyon Dam affects the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund, hydropower production, infrastructure obligations, and listed species. The agencies must develop a plan that draws on existing hydropower contract information to address fund obligations (operations, maintenance, replacement), hydropower production and replacement costs, and impacts to species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The measure does not appropriate new funds and includes a savings clause preserving administrative procedure rights. The required MOU is intended to clarify effects on fund uses and on grid reliability and to inform future agency or funding decisions.