Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act
Sponsored By: Representative Bentz, Cliff [R-OR-2]
Introduced
Summary
Would require hydropower licenses to include measures that reasonably mitigate direct harm to federal reservations and to fish populations in affected rivers. It modernizes the Federal Power Act by adding explicit mitigation duties to the reservation-related license conditions in section 4(e) and to prescribed fishways in section 18.
Show full summary
- Federal reservations: Projects that affect federal reservations would have license conditions requiring mitigation of direct adverse effects.
- Fish populations: Required fishways must include measures to reasonably mitigate direct adverse effects on species' populations in the applicable river system.
- Hydropower licensees: Developers would need to include and implement mitigation measures as part of licensing, shaping permit terms and compliance obligations.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Hydropower owners must mitigate harms
If enacted, the bill would require hydropower project licenses to include reasonable measures to reduce direct harm to Federal reservations. It would also require fishways to include measures to reduce direct harm to fish populations in the river system. These rules would aim to protect reservation lands, fisheries, and nearby communities. Project owners and license applicants would face new mitigation duties and potential compliance costs.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Bentz, Cliff [R-OR-2]
OR • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Fulcher, Russ [R-ID-1]
ID • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Amodei, Mark E. [R-NV-2]
NV • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Hurd, Jeff [R-CO-3]
CO • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Zinke, Ryan K. [R-MT-1]
MT • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14]
TX • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Crank, Jeff [R-CO-5]
CO • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4]
WA • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Evans, Gabe [R-CO-8]
CO • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5]
WA • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2]
MT • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Griffith, H. Morgan [R-VA-9]
VA • R
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Gallagher, James [R-CA-1]
CA • R
Sponsored 6/25/2026
Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9]
AZ • R
Sponsored 6/29/2026
Rep. Maloy, Celeste [R-UT-2]
UT • R
Sponsored 6/30/2026
Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3]
WI • R
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23]
NY • R
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large]
WY • R
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Bost, Mike [R-IL-12]
IL • R
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" [R-TN-3]
TN • R
Sponsored 7/14/2026
Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41]
CA • R
Sponsored 7/14/2026
Rep. Miller-Meeks, Mariannette [R-IA-1]
IA • R
Sponsored 7/16/2026
Rep. Harshbarger, Diana [R-TN-1]
TN • R
Sponsored 7/23/2026
Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11]
TX • R
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10]
NC • R
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Rep. Balderson, Troy [R-OH-12]
OH • R
Sponsored 8/3/2026
Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24]
NY • R
Sponsored 8/31/2026
Rep. Palmer, Gary J. [R-AL-6]
AL • R
Sponsored 8/31/2026
Rep. Joyce, David P. [R-OH-14]
OH • R
Sponsored 8/31/2026
Rep. McGuire, John J. [R-VA-5]
VA • R
Sponsored 9/2/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov