Hudson's Bipartisan Hydropower Bill Heads to Trump's Desk
October 11, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2018
Hudson’s Bipartisan Hydropower Bill Heads to Trump’s Desk
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) released the following statement after the Senate passed the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S. 3021) yesterday. This important legislation includes Rep. Hudson’s bipartisan bill H.R. 2786 to expedite the approval process for conduit hydropower projects, which generate electricity from water flow in existing pipelines and other infrastructure.
“Hydropower is an important part of our all-of-the-above energy strategy,” said Rep. Hudson. “My bipartisan bill to remove red tape for small hydropower projects on existing infrastructure is simply common sense, and I look forward to seeing President Trump sign it into law soon.”
Promoting Hydropower Development
This package combines several Energy and Commerce bills that passed the House including, H.R. 2880, thePromoting Closed-Loop Pumped Storage Hydropower Act,; H.R. 2872, the Promoting Hydropower Development at Existing Nonpowered Dams Act; H.R. 2786, To Amend the Federal Power Act with Respect to the Criteria and Process to Qualify as a Qualifying Conduit Hydropower Facility, authored by Rep. Hudson; as well as key provisions from H.R. 3043, the Hydropower Policy Modernization Act. These bills:
- Encourage the use of clean, baseload hydropower by streamlining the regulatory permitting process.
- Get new hydropower projects to market faster, saving time and money.
- Remove barriers to investments in hydropower, which create jobs and provide low-cost, efficient, and emissions-free electricity to consumers.
Modernizing Our Drinking Water Infrastructure
This package incorporates substantial portions of H.R. 3387, theDrinking Water System Improvement Act, which passed the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously in July 2017. Key provisions include:
- Authorization of more than $4.4 billion over three years for the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund program.
- Improving accountability by aiding states and utilities with compliance and asset management.
- Protecting communities by updating antiterrorism and resilience measures at public water systems.
- Enhancing transparency for consumers about the quality of their drinking water.
- Authorization of $100 million over the next two fiscal years for areas affected by natural disasters that need help repairing their drinking water systems or hooking up to other ones to obtain potable drinking water.
Increasing FERC Transparency
Included in the final package are key provisions from H.R. 587, the Fair RATES Act, which passed the House unanimously in January 2017. These provisions strengthen consumers’ participation in the FERC rate process by increasing transparency.
Click here to learn more about the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.
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Issues:Economy and JobsEnergy