OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act

Floor Speech

Date: July 14, 2025
Location: Washington, DC

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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.

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