S. 182 — Northwest Energy Security Act

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act: (1) FCRPS, meaning those portions of the Federal Columbia River Power System that are the subject of the Supplemental Opinion; (2) Secretaries, meaning the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation), the Secretary of Energy (acting through the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration), and the Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief of Engineers); and (3) Supplemental Opinion, meaning the document entitled “Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision” dated September 2020.

This section authorizes the Secretaries to amend portions of the Supplemental Opinion and operate the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) in accordance with those amendments—notwithstanding section 3—if all Secretaries determine, in their sole discretion, that (1) the amendment is necessary for public safety or transmission and grid reliability, or (2) the actions, operations, or other requirements removed by the amendment are no longer warranted. It specifies that this process is the only method by which the Secretaries may operate the FCRPS in any way inconsistent with the reasonable and prudent alternative in the Supplemental Opinion. (As background, the Supplemental Opinion provides Endangered Species Act compliance measures for FCRPS operations, which manage hydropower generation, flood control, irrigation, and fish passage in the Columbia River Basin.)

This section prohibits any structural modification, action, study, or engineering plan that restricts electrical generation at any Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) hydroelectric dam or limits navigation on the Snake River in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho unless specifically and expressly authorized by a federal statute enacted after the date of enactment of this Act. It clarifies that this prohibition does not affect the authority of the Secretaries to conduct operation and maintenance activities or make capital improvements necessary to meet authorized project purposes of FCRPS facilities.