The effects on local infrastructure needs and the costs of prime farmland protection and land reclamation shall be considered in the development of a national coal program. Financing of activities under the abandoned mine reclamation fund shall be accelerated, and a federal commitment to reclamation shall be strengthened. No federal policy having implications for land development or management should be adopted without accommodating the laws and views of affected states. Natural Gas It should be part of the strategy of the United States to include the use of clean, efficient natural gas. It should be used in a manner that sustains long-run availability. This should include the co-firing of natural gas with other fuels for efficiency or environmental purposes. The United States should encourage domestic production of natural gas in an environmentally-sound manner. Further, the federal government should complete price deregulation by 1993 as provided in current law. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should expedite decisions regarding pipeline construction serving the oil-dependent markets and should be encouraged to provide access by interconnecting pipelines to producing areas of this nation. Both producers and users of natural gas benefit from orderly transportation programs which provide competition and reliable supplies of natural gas at the lowest possible cost. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should take steps, to the extent the Natural Gas Act and the Natural Gas Policy Act allow, to remove the disincentives for natural gas pipelines to provide voluntary transportation of natural gas for others, and should immediately take such actions as may be necessary to provide final take-or-pay relief in the natural gas marketplace. The federal government should fund continuing research and evaluation relative to the environmentally-sound production and use of natural gas, in order to conserve energy by improving efficiency and should promote development of alternative vehicular fuels. Nuclear Nuclear power is an option that should be included in the development of a national energy plan, with the utmost care taken to address concerns regarding plant safety, and the transportation, storage and disposal of nuclear waste. A federal government program for the long term management of high level radioactive waste, funded by the generators of the waste, should be pursued in a safe, timely and cost-effective manner, with the highest priority given to the safety and technical suitability of storage or disposal sites. Such a program shall be developed in full consultation with all of the affected states. The nuclear power plant licensing process for future plant construction must be improved to ensure both public input and timely decisions, and federally standardized nuclear power plant designs should be established. However, automatic approval of nuclear power plant operating licenses should not be permitted. It is essential that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission provide strong, centralized, and consistent administration that would improve management of the agency, expedite policy formulation, and help bring about needed reforms in licensing and regulation, that are consistent with the NRC's primary responsibility of ensuring public health and safety. Meaningful and effective state participation in public safety planning and transportation of commercial nuclear waste is necessary. States should continue to have the right to monitor operating conditions at nuclear power plants, waste storage and disposal facilities, and to exercise regulatory authority where consistent with federal law. Federal funding should be provided for research in the areas of waste management technologies, nuclear fusion, and plant retrofit and life extension. Electricity The federal government should promote energy efficiency and conservation to lower the demand for electricity. The development of sources of electric energy that are sufficient to meet national needs, secure from external threat, reliable in availability and delivery, safe relative to people and the environment, and efficient for use in homes, businesses and industries should be pursued after aggressive efficiency and conservation programs are implemented. The electricity sector today is marked by tremendous regional diversity, especially with regard to capacity. Fuel usage also varies widely. Implementation of federal legislation that fails to recognize this diversity inevitably penalizes one region or another. Regulatory Authority State regulatory bodies are close to consumers, utilities, industries, and concerned for state environmental and economic well-being. State regulatory bodies are in the best position to evaluate consumer needs, questions relative to fuel choice, economic development implications, and system reliability. Additionally, the determination as to when and how competitive bidding should be employed in the expansion of electric power generation capacity or to bring on new energy efficiency resources should remain the prerogative of the states through their regulatory commissions and the affected utility companies. NCSL strongly supports and urges the continuation of the concept of primary state responsibility and final decision authority with state legislative oversight for the approval and siting of all major energy conversion facilities, subject to minimum federal standards established only after the fullest consultation with state governments, both executive and legislative branch. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should ensure that regulation of interstate wholesale markets does not impede state regulation of utility investments. Multi-state cooperation in identifying the economics of and need for additional energy transmission and generation projects shall be encouraged. Least-cost energy planning for electrical generation should be pursued at the state or regional level, wherever applicable. States should have the authority over intrastate transmission practices. There should be no further preemption of state regulatory authority nor shall federal standards be established governing state regulation of utilities. Federal regulators shall ensure full and adequate consultation with state regulators prior to the determination of federal policy. Our nation must maintain and increase its commitment to energy conservation and efficiency, while maintaining adequate and reliable energy for economic growth. Utilities, investors, equipment manufacturers and consumers should be given legislative and regulatory incentives to promote conservation and efficiency in utility planning, equipment and appliance manufacturing and energy usage practices. Electricity research and development efforts shall be intensified with regard to energy efficiency, superconductivity, advanced and reasonable environmental controls in power generation, and development of cost-effective renewable supply technologies. Research And Development The cornerstone of a national energy policy should include a broad research and development component. The federal government has already committed substantial research funds for clean coal, nuclear research, basic science and related efforts. These research and development efforts ought to be continued. These efforts, however, should be supplemented with increased incentives and federal funding for research and development projects emphasizing emerging technologies, including, but not limited to, renewable resources, energy conservation, efficient use of energy, alternative fuels and oil and gas recovery. This enhanced long-term research and development capacity should also be designed to encourage private sector participation with federal and state representatives. Education and Information It is essential that the nation, particularly its elementary and secondary school-age children, be made fully aware of energy use and costs, production processes, alternative energy resources and the impact energy usage has on our environment. If we are to eliminate any inefficiencies that exist as a result of current and future energy use, we must have a fully informed public. NCSL recommends that public and private sector education efforts be initiated, expanded and appropriately funded. These efforts should emphasize that significant economic and environmental benefits can be achieved through increased efficiency and conservation. An essential step in formulating a balanced energy policy is to develop the necessary data and employ analytical methods and models to assess the productivity costs and risks of the various energy choices available to the nation. The Department of Energy, with assistance from the Departments of Defense, Treasury and State, and the Office of Management and Budget, and in conjunction with the states, shall develop this analytic base. Transportation National transportation strategies must include public policy initiatives directed at broadening the efficient use of our energy resources. These policy initiatives should include, but not necessarily be limited to, incentives and adequate funding for mass transit, high speed rail, magnetic levitation and other emerging transportation technologies. Public-private partnerships should be encouraged. APPENDIXES TO FEBRUARY 26, 1991 HEARING (Subtitle C of Title IV and Section 10003 of Title X) Appendix I-Responses to Additional Questions DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY 0 8 APR 1991 Honorable J. Bennett Johnston Chairman Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Dear Mr. Chairman: This is in response to your March 11, 1991, request for further information for the printed hearing record of the February 26 hearing on S. 341, the National Energy Security Act of 1991, Subtitle C of Title IV, concerning provisions pertaining to hydropower licensing and efficiency and Section 10003, NEPA Compliance. In response to the request for a copy of the study entitled, National Hydropower Resources Survey, we have enclosed the following information: Volume I, National Hydroelectric Power Resources Study, May 1983, Executive Summary; Volume II, National Hydroelectric Power Resources Study, May 1983, National Report; - Volume IX, National Hydroelectric Power Resources Study, July 1981, Potential for Increasing the Output of Existing Hydroelectric Plants. The remaining volumes of the National Hydroelectric Power Resources Study are no longer available as the report is out of print. We believe that the volumes that we are sending contain the information you need. However, if you need information from any of the other volumes listed in the Executive Summary, please let us know, and we will make arrangements to have the information copied from the file copies of the report. In response to your second request for information on recent studies performed by the Corps to identify potential for increasing hydroelectric production from Corps facilities, the report entitled, Directory of Corps Projects with Existing Hydroelectric Power Facilities and/or the Potential for the Addition of Hydroelectric Power, dated July 1988, is enclosed. In this report, Table 5 contains a listing of all Army Corps of Engineers |