[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 120 (Monday, July 14, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H3221-H3223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HYDROPOWER LICENSING TRANSPARENCY ACT
Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3657) to amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission to annually submit to Congress a report on
the status of ongoing hydropower relicensing applications, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3657
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Hydropower Licensing
Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL LICENSING STATUS REPORT.
The Federal Power Act is amended by inserting after section
36 (16 U.S.C. 823g) the following:
``SEC. 37. ANNUAL LICENSING STATUS REPORT.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the
Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the status
of--
``(1) the licensing process for each new license, and for
each subsequent license for which sections 14 and 15 have
been waived, for which the existing licensee has notified the
Commission under section 15(b)(1) at least 3 years prior to
submission of the report that such existing licensee intends
to file an application for such new license or subsequent
license, but such new license or subsequent license has not
yet been issued under section 15; and
``(2) the licensing process for each original license under
section 4(e) for which a citizen, association, corporation,
State, Indian Tribe, or municipality has notified the
Commission, pursuant to applicable regulations, at least 3
years prior to submission of the report that such citizen,
association, corporation, State, Indian Tribe, or
municipality intends to file an application for such original
license, but such original license has not yet been issued
under section 4(e).
``(b) Inclusions.--Each report submitted under subsection
(a) shall include, with respect to the licensing process for
each new license and
[[Page H3222]]
subsequent license described in such subsection and the
licensing process for each original license described in such
subsection--
``(1) the date the notice of intent described in such
subsection was provided to the Commission;
``(2) any docket number assigned with respect to such
licensing process;
``(3) whether any application for such new license, such
subsequent license, or such original license has been filed;
``(4) information regarding the status of any such
application, including the date the Commission anticipates it
will issue such original license, such subsequent license, or
such new license;
``(5) the date of any upcoming proceeding or other meeting
related to such original license, such subsequent license, or
such new license; and
``(6) a description of any ongoing or completed actions
required of the existing licensee, citizen, association,
corporation, State, Indian Tribe, municipality, the
Commission, the fish and wildlife agencies referred to in
section 15(b), and any other agencies.
``(c) Disaggregation of Information by License Type.--The
information included in each report submitted under
subsection (a) shall be disaggregated by whether the
information relates to a new license, or a subsequent
license, issued under section 15 or an original license
issued under section 4(e).''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Latta) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.
General Leave
Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
insert extraneous material into the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3657, the Hydropower
Licensing Transparency Act, led by the gentleman from Idaho's First
District and the gentlewoman from Washington's Eighth District.
Hydropower is critical to our Nation's energy mix, supplying power to
approximately 30 million homes and businesses and accounting for 40
percent of the Nation's black start capacity.
However, the average age of a hydropower facility in the United
States is 60 years. Therefore, hundreds of projects will be up for
relicensing between now and 2035.
Hydropower developers must go through an extensive permitting process
in order to license and relicense projects. While important, this
process can significantly increase the cost and timeline of relicensing
these important energy sources. In fact, the average permitting length
of an original license process spans from 5 to 7 years, and the average
relicensing process takes between 7 and 10 years.
To increase transparency surrounding the status of hydropower
licensing and relicensing applications, H.R. 3657 would require an
annual report from FERC to Congress detailing the status of projects
that have filed a notice of intent for original or new licenses. This
will better inform Congress on the status of applications and highlight
obstacles to the efficient permitting and deployment of hydropower
projects.
It is imperative that projects are relicensed in a timely manner to
ensure clean and reliable hydropower dams remain online for years to
come.
I thank the gentlewoman from Washington's Eighth District and the
gentleman from Idaho's First Congressional District for their
leadership on this very important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3657, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3657, which will provide
transparency into the hydropower licensing process at the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC.
Today, FERC is responsible for issuing licenses for hydropower dams,
but it is often dependent on other regulatory entities, such as the
Army Corps, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, or State water agencies, to provide information and
approvals that FERC relies on to issue licenses. It can also be
dependent on the dam developer itself to give FERC necessary
information.
With all these different entities involved in the process, it is
often difficult to monitor from the outside and understand where things
stand on a particular project.
This bill helps to bring more transparency to the process. It
requires an annual report to Congress on the status of each license
application and outstanding actions that are required of regulatory
agencies or the applicants themselves. This is particularly important
now because 15 percent of the electric capacity at hydropower dams will
come up for relicensing in the next decade.
Forecasts for electricity demand also seem to be increasing by the
day, and that is why it is critically important that we have
transparency into where the hangups are in the hydropower licensing
process.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Schrier for her hard work on this
bipartisan bill. I also thank Representative Fulcher, Chairs Guthrie
and Latta, and Republican committee staff for accommodating
commonsense, bipartisan amendments to the bill, such as expanding it to
cover new hydropower projects.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman
from Washington (Ms. Schrier), who is the sponsor of the bill.
Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Pallone and Chairman
Latta for their leadership.
I am from Washington State, and in the Pacific Northwest, hydropower
makes up the majority of our energy mix. That is why I am very proud to
lead this effort to enhance transparency and really help streamline the
non-Federal hydropower licensing process with my colleague from Idaho,
Representative Fulcher.
This bill will support the proper permitting of clean, abundant, and
affordable energy by allowing Congress, Tribes, resource agencies, and
ratepayers to better track the status of the relicensing process for
new and existing hydropower license applications.
Every 30 to 50 years, hydropower dams must relicense their dams with
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in order to continue operating
a facility. Hydropower dams in my district are critical to keeping the
lights on and keeping the power flowing, and several, including the
Rock Island Dam at Chelan County PUD, are due for relicensing at the
end of 2028.
The relicensing process is typically very lengthy, in part for good
reason. The public comment period needs to be robust for all parties to
weigh in. Without that input, we risk potentially devastating
environmental consequences on regional ecosystems.
With relicensing activity set to double in the coming decade and the
process typically taking 7 to 10 years to complete, there are crucial
reforms that are needed to cut red tape without compromising careful
consideration. Otherwise, we could risk not having the affordable power
we need when we need it.
The bill also includes annual reporting to track progress on new
hydropower licenses, which are the most sensitive to licensing costs
and delays. Existing projects have a revenue stream to pull from that
allows the licensee to fund these processes, but new projects are
completely sourced by the developers.
This commonsense, bipartisan bill takes the first step by enhancing
transparency and tracking progress on any given licensing process for
all parties involved.
I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on
comprehensive, bipartisan hydropower licensing reform, and I urge my
colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on the bill. I am
prepared to close if the gentleman is, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge bipartisan support for this
important bill related to hydropower dams, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, all the reports that we have across this
country state that we have been producing more power, not less, and
hydropower plays an important role in our structure of energy in this
country.
[[Page H3223]]
Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3657, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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