A bill to amend the Federal Power Act to modernize authorizations for necessary hydropower approvals. 2017-05-24 Reported to Senate without amendment (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

(Sec.1)This bill amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a preliminary permit to a hydropower construction license applicant for up to four years, instead of three.

FERC may extend a preliminary permit once for no more than four years and may issue a new permit after the end of an extension if it determines there are extraordinary circumstances that warrant the issuance of an additional permit.

Additionally, FERC may extend the time a licensee has to commence construction on a project for up to eight years.Under current law, FERC may extend the license for no more than two years.

]]> 2017-03-27 Introduced in Senate This bill amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a preliminary permit to a hydropower construction license applicant for up to four years, instead of three.

FERC may extend a preliminary permit once for no more than four years and may issue a new permit after the end of an extension if it determines there are extraordinary circumstances that warrant the issuance of an additional permit.

Additionally, FERC may extend the time a licensee has to commence construction on a project for up to eight years.Under current law, FERC may extend the license for no more than two years.

]]> text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.