A series of bipartisan bills aimed at reforming hydropower licensing and regulatory processes has been introduced in the US House of Representatives and Senate, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) has announced.
The US industry association highlighted four pieces of legislation introduced ahead of Congress’s summer district work period, covering routine maintenance licensing, mandatory conditions imposed by resource agencies, hydropower projects at US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dams and water quality certification.
Representatives Nick Langworthy of New York and Kim Schrier of Washington have introduced the House version of the FLOWS Act. According to NHA, the legislation is intended to streamline licensing for routine maintenance and support faster deployment of marine energy devices.
The Senate version is led by Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Angus King of Maine.
Separately, Senators Steve Daines of Montana, Jim Risch of Idaho and Murkowski have introduced the Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act. The legislation is the Senate companion to a bill previously introduced in the House by Representative Cliff Bentz of Oregon.
The bill seeks to limit the scope of mandatory conditions imposed by resource agencies to project effects.
Members of both chambers have also introduced legislation to standardise the process for hydropower licences at USACE dams under the Section 408 programme.
Section 408 governs alterations to USACE public works projects, including dams. The proposed legislation aims to establish consistent guidelines across USACE districts and remove duplicative reviews.
The legislation was introduced by Senators Daines and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire in the Senate and Representatives Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Carol Miller of West Virginia in the House.
Representatives Adam Gray of California and David Rouzer of North Carolina have meanwhile introduced the CURRENT Act. The bipartisan House bill seeks to provide greater clarity and certainty in the water quality certification process under the Clean Water Act.
Commenting on the legislation, NHA Senior Director of Legislative Affairs Matthew Allen said: “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. Hydropower is clean, reliable, and American made; it’s the solution to our ongoing, nationwide effort to make electricity more affordable; and it continues innovating to meet changing energy needs.
“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 16GW of hydropower going through relicensing in the next decade. That’s why I’m thrilled to see these hydropower champions in Congress work to provide common-sense solutions. Each piece of legislation thoughtfully addresses ongoing challenges and helps to fully unleash hydropower’s full value on the grid. NHA will work hard to make each of them law.”
