Proposed Community and Hydropower Improvement Act (S.1521, 2023)

In 2023, the Community and Hydropower Improvement Act (S.1521) was introduced in the U.S. Senate. This bill modifies requirements for hydropower projects, including by

• accelerating and coordinating the environmental review of the licensing of hydropower projects;
• expediting the licensing process for closed-loop or off-stream pumped storage projects;
• expediting the licensing process for certain nonfederal hydropower projects at existing nonpowered dams;
• increasing the involvement of Indian tribes in the licensing process;
• directing federal agencies and Indian tribes to consider certain effects of dams, such as any adverse effects on fish species;
• requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue regulations that establish procedures for license surrender proceedings initiated by licensees; and
• establishing a Licensing Administration Reimbursement Fund.

Charles Sensiba, author of the LPDD chapter on Hydropower, notes that there is much overlap in the reforms included in S1521 and the licensing recommendations of the LPDD text. Among the 29 recommendations in Ch. 22, a number of them address similar themes of expediting licensing and consolidating environmental reviews, licensing exemptions at non-powered dams, licensing parameters at closed-loop and pumped storage systems, water release schedules, and other subjects addressed in S.1521.