Sponsors (5)
Narrows fishway mandates to mitigation of direct adverse effects on a species' population and inserts unspecified text into a Federal Power Act proviso (exact effect unknown).
Official title: Amend the Federal Power Act to modernize the hydropower licensing process, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 21, 2026 by Steve Daines · Last progress July 21, 2026
The bill trades greater clarity and lower compliance risk for hydropower licensees by narrowing fishway requirements and agency discretion, against increased risks of weaker fish protections, harm to fisheries-dependent communities, and legal uncertainty until precise statutory language is fixed.
Hydropower project licensees (utilities) and federal licensing staff face clearer standards because required fishways are tied to mitigating a project's direct adverse effects on a species' river-system population, reducing agency discretion over open‑ended mandates.
Hydropower project licensees and some local communities experience reduced risk of open-ended or overly burdensome fishway mandates, lowering potential compliance costs and permitting uncertainty.
Utilities, federal agencies, states, tribes, and conservation groups will face legal and regulatory uncertainty because unspecified inserted language and narrower statutory terms leave obligations, timelines, and standards unclear until the exact wording and interpretive limits are known.
Rural communities, recreational fishers, and aquatic ecosystems risk worsened fish passage and slowed species recovery because fewer or smaller fishways may be required, weakening protections for upstream–downstream connectivity and habitat.
Utilities and energy companies could face changed license conditions that alter operations and compliance costs if the Federal Power Act proviso is modified, creating potential new economic burdens for project owners.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Modifies Federal Power Act provisions that govern conditions attached to hydropower licenses and fishway requirements. One amendment (to section 4(e)) inserts unspecified text into the first proviso of that subsection; the draft does not show the inserted language so the exact change cannot be determined. The other amendment (to section 18) narrows the statutory standard for required fishways so that fishways must be tied to reasonably mitigating the direct adverse effect of a project on the population of a fish species in the affected river system.