Lawmakers hoping to improve U.S. hydropower production have landed on a common enemy: bureaucratic red tape. Several bipartisan bills have been introduced in the House and Senate ahead of the summer district work period, largely aimed at addressing licensing and permitting processes that have caused headaches and delays for the hydro workforce.
“It’s rare to see so many lawmakers from different parties and regions united on behalf of a common cause, but that’s what makes hydropower so unique,” said the National Hydropower Association’s senior director of legislative affairs, Matthew Allen. “Hydro’s dependable power and critical infrastructure can help lower Americans’ bills and provide good jobs for generations of families. But the current, outdated licensing process is slowing down new construction and threatens around 16 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower going through relicensing in the next decade.”
Here are the pieces of legislation under consideration and how each could impact the future of American hydropower.
Nick Langworthy (NY-23) and Reps Kim Schrier (WA-08) introduced the House companion version of the FLOWS Act, which is meant to streamline the licensing process for routine maintenance and support faster deployment of marine energy devices. The legislation is led in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Angus King (I-ME).
The act would:
- Exempt routine maintenance, in-kind equipment replacements, and other “non-substantial alterations” at existing hydropower facilities from requiring prior FERC approval.
- Preserve all existing environmental protections and FERC’s dam safety oversight.
- Establish a permitting process specifically tailored for emerging wave, tidal, and river-current energy technologies.
The bill’s backers argue that current licensing requirements were largely designed around traditional large-scale hydroelectric dams and do not reflect today’s technologies or the realities of operating existing facilities.
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Jim Risch (R-ID) introduced the Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act to the Senate, which would reform the Federal Power Act (FPA) in an effort to reduce delays and costs of hydropower licensing.
Specifically, the bill would limit Section 4(e) and Section 18 mandatory conditioning of hydropower licenses under the Federal Power Act to conditions related to “direct adverse effects” of the project. Currently, natural resource agencies can require mandatory conditions that must be met for the project to proceed, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) cannot reject them “regardless of cost, impact, or whether the condition is directly relevant to the project,” notes the American Public Power Association.
The senators supporting the bill note that 40% of hydropower in the U.S. is up for relicensing by 2030, arguing that the nation’s hydropower fleet is threatened by “burdensome, lengthy, and expensive” relicensing. Additionally, they argue that new generation is becoming uneconomical due to permitting delays and litigation threats.
U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), as well as Representatives Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-2) and Carol Miller (R-WV-01) introduced bipartisan legislation meant to standardize the process for hydropower licenses at Army Corps of Engineers dams under Section 408 to “ensure a uniform and consistent application and review process across districts.”
The Section 408 licensing process for Army Corps of Engineers dams can vary from district to district, with different standards and timelines for producers. Supporters of the bill argue that standardizing the process and timeline can help ensure that generation will be added to existing non-powered dams. According to a recent Army Corps assessment, approximately 3 GW of power could be produced at existing Army Corps non-powered dams.
Congressman Adam Gray (CA-13) and Congressman David Rouzer (NC-07) introduced the Certainty and Uniform Reviews for Reliable Energy and Transmission (CURRENT) Act, bipartisan legislation intended to modernize the federal permitting process and provide greater certainty for infrastructure projects while “maintaining key provisions” of the Clean Water Act.
Under current law, Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires applicants seeking certain federal permits or licenses to obtain a water quality certification from states, tribes, or authorized agencies. Backers of the bill argue that over time, the certification process has become “increasingly unpredictable,” resulting in permitting delays, litigation, and uncertainty for critical infrastructure projects.
Specifically, the bill would limit a state’s ability to mandate conditions beyond those that affect the federal water quality standard.
