{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.daines.senate.gov/2026/07/21/daines-risch-murkowski-lead-efforts-to-bolster-made-in-america-hydropower/", "Daines, Risch, Murkowski Lead Efforts to Bolster Made-In-America Hydropower", "2026-07-21", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MT", "Steve Daines", "D000618", "www.daines.senate.gov", "daines", "https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today introduced the \u201cHydropower Licensing Affordability Act.\u201d This bill will reform the Federal Power Act 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 those conditions that are related to \u201cdirect adverse effects\u201d of the project.\n\n\u201cHydropower is a growing source of power in both Montana and across the nation. The demand for U.S. energy is increasing every year, and we need to do everything we can to ensure we\u2019re prepared to meet this rise in demand. These reforms will ensure the hydropower licensing process is more efficient, so we can get critical projects done in a timely manner,\u201d said Daines.\n\n\u201cMore than half of Idaho\u2019s in-state electricity generation comes from hydropower, underscoring the importance of continued investment in the operation of both public and private dams. The Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act improves the relicensing process to ensure our dams continue to meet growing demand for affordable, reliable baseload power while efficiently serving our communities,\u201d said Risch.\n\n\u201cThroughout my time in the Senate, I have heard the same message from Alaska\u2019s utilities and local leaders: the hydropower relicensing process is broken. With 40 percent of our nation\u2019s non-federal hydropower licenses set to expire by 2035, including 12 projects in Alaska, we need to address the unwarranted delays and costly federal requirements that often bear little connection to a project\u2019s direct impacts. Those burdens make it much harder to maintain and expand one of Alaska\u2019s most reliable sources of renewable, baseload power. By ensuring mandatory licensing conditions are tied to a project\u2019s direct adverse effects, this legislation will provide greater regulatory certainty, reduce unnecessary costs, and help keep electricity affordable and reliable for Alaskans,\u201d said Murkowski.\n\nRead the bill text HERE.\n\nThe senators also wrote a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Commerce urging support and action on these reforms. The letter urges the agencies to:\n\nLimit mandatory conditions to those that address direct effects of a project,\n\nLimit the scope of the project area to its immediate vicinity,\n\nReasonably define \u2018fishway\u2019 to clarify that prescribed structures are intended only to address direct impacts to fish passage;\n\nRequire conditions to be backed by the best available science,\n\nRequire agencies to provide a statement with any conditions that demonstrates equal consideration to the effects of the condition \u201con energy supply, distribution, cost, and use; flood control; navigation; water supply; and air quality (in addition to the preservation of other aspects of environmental quality),\u201d as required in Section 33, and\n\nEnsure that conditions are not overly burdensome or costly.\n\n\u201cTaking steps now to address these issues will usher in a generational shift in hydropower production, keep costs lower for consumers, build jobs, maintain reliability for the grid, and protect blackstart assets, all while continuing to protect our natural resources. We urge you to immediately initiative rulemakings at each of your agencies and look forward to working closely with you to support new and existing hydroelectric generation,\u201d they wrote in the letter.\n\nSenators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) joined Daines, Risch, and Murkowski in sending the letter.\n\nRead the full letter HERE.\n\nStatements of Support:\n\n\u201cCommon sense hydropower reforms mean we need to pair the permit with the project. That\u2019s why the Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act is so important. For too long, hydropower producers have been forced to pay for wish-list items that have nothing to do with the reliable power they provide. With rising energy demand and 16,000 MW of hydropower up for license renewal over the next decade, we can\u2019t afford to keep the status quo. I thank Senators Daines, Risch and Murkowski for taking action on this top priority, along with Rep. Cliff Bentz, who is leading this effort in the House. NHA looks forward to working closely with these water power champions to move this bill through Congress as quickly as possible.\u201d\u2014 Matthew Allen, Senior Director of Legislative Affairs, National Hydropower Association\n\n\u201cThank you Senators Daines, Risch and Murkowski for introducing the Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act. This legislation will help create greater certainty in the permitting process for our hydropower assets, while ensuring our projects maintain their environmental integrity to protect fish and wildlife. Hydropower makes up nearly 23% of our generation portfolio at NorthWestern Energy, allowing our company to meet customer demand with affordable, reliable, and carbon-free power.\u201d \u2013 Brian Bird, President and Chief Executive Officer, NorthWestern Energy\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-22T07:34:13Z", "2026-07-22T07:35:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.daines.senate.gov/2026/07/21/daines-risch-murkowski-lead-efforts-to-bolster-made-in-america-hydropower/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8970960043370724, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}