WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) announced his Grazing Improvement Act and the Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act were included in a public lands package in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that passed the Senate today. The House of Representatives passed the NDAA on December 4, 2014 and the bill is now on its way to the President.

Barrasso’s Grazing Improvement Act provides greater certainty and stability to the livestock grazing community. It allows the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service to continue issuing grazing permits while an environmental analysis is being completed.

“Livestock grazing on public lands has a strong tradition in Wyoming and in the West. For too long, our ranching families have been the target of anti-grazing litigation that puts their grazing permits in jeopardy,” said Barrasso. “By streamlining the permitting process, my bill will finally give Wyoming’s ranching families, and the local communities they support, the stability they need to keep their operations running strong.”

The Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act was introduced by Senator Barrasso in February and is the companion bill to Representative Steve Daines’ (R-MT) bill (H.R. 1963). Their bill eliminates red tape that currently prevents conduit hydropower development at eleven Bureau of Reclamation projects in the West.

“Increasing hydropower development at Bureau of Reclamation facilities is a great opportunity to create rural jobs and lower electricity prices for American families,” said Barrasso. “I want to thank Representative Daines for working with me to finish the job of developing all our renewable small hydropower resources at these facilities. I look forward to the President signing this bill into law soon so we can fully embrace hydropower’s potential.”

Background on Barrasso’s Grazing Improvement Act (Section 3023 of NDAA)

Under current law, livestock grazing permits are valid for 10 years. After 10 years, new environmental analysis is required before a permit can be renewed.

However, agencies cannot complete the backlog of required environmental analysis due to lawsuits filed by extreme environmentalists intended to delay the permitting process. In September, the BLM had a backlog of approximately 5600 permits in need of renewal. For over a decade, grazing permit holders and public land management agencies have relied on Congress to temporarily grant the continued use of these grazing permits every year.

The Grazing Improvement Act fixes this by allowing the BLM and Forest Service to continue issuing grazing permits while an environmental analysis is being completed. It also provides the land management agencies with more flexibility concerning the priority and timing for completion of environmental analysis, issuing grazing permits, and other needed reforms.

Background on Barrasso-Daines Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act (S. 2010):

In 2013, the House and Senate passed S. 306/H.R. 678 (Barrasso/Tipton) to promote conduit hydropower development at Reclamation facilities. S. 306/H.R. 678 applied to hundreds of Reclamation facilities that are covered under the authorities of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939.

The Barrasso-Daines bill (S. 2010) applies to the remaining 11 Reclamation facilities, all of which are governed under the different and more complex authorities and terms of the Water Conservation and Utilization Act (WCUA) of 1939. The bill specifically removes statutory impediments by authorizing non-federal hydropower development at these conduits and provides administrative and regulatory reforms necessary to foster such development. This bill will help pave the way for non-federal hydro-power development on all facets of these projects, including dams.

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