Senator Alan Armstrong (R-OK) has introduced S.4944, the American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026, a comprehensive permitting reform package aimed at speeding energy and mineral infrastructure while keeping environmental review in place.

For the hydropower fleet, the bill matters most through its reform of Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification, a leading source of cost, delay, and uncertainty in relicensing. States can use Section 401 to attach conditions, including flow requirements, that reach well beyond a project's actual water quality effects. S.4944 reins this in, including a provision barring 401 certifications for hydroelectric projects from imposing conditions on the quantity, timing, or rate of water flow.

It also makes FERC the lead agency for interstate natural gas pipelines and LNG facilities, improves the dredge-and-fill and nationwide permit processes, clarifies NEPA, and addresses hard rock mining on federal lands.

NHA urges its members to contact their U.S. Senators and ask them to cosponsor and support S.4944.

Why This Matters

Federal permitting and water quality certification are among the largest regulatory hurdles facing the existing hydropower fleet. S.4944 helps address them while preserving genuine environmental protection. This is important because:

• Clean Water Act Section 401 certification is frequently a leading driver of cost and delay in relicensing, and conditions attached through it have at times reached beyond a project's measurable water quality effects.
• The bill's limitation on flow-related Section 401 conditions for hydroelectric projects speaks directly to a long-standing concern that certification has been used to dictate project operations rather than protect water quality.
• A firm one-year certification deadline and clearer decision standards would reduce the open-ended timelines that push owners toward surrendering licenses and retiring carbon-free generation.
• Existing hydropower provides dispatchable, low-cost power and grid flexibility that is difficult and expensive to replace at a time of steep demand growth.

This approach is consistent with a long-standing NHA priority: that conditions imposed on a hydropower facility should be reasonably related to the effects of the project.

What the Legislation Does

The American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026 (S.4944) would:

• Reform Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification by tying decisions to specific water quality standards, setting a one-year deadline that cannot be tolled, and barring 401 conditions on hydroelectric projects relating to the quantity, timing, or rate of water flow.
• Make FERC the lead agency for interstate natural gas pipelines and LNG facilities, fold the water quality review into the FERC certification, and prevent a single state from blocking a federally approved and permitted project.
• Improve the dredge-and-fill permit process under Section 404, including nationwide permits for linear infrastructure projects, and reduce duplicative review.
• Update the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit program under Section 402.
• Provide statutory clarification to re-enable mining activities, including critical minerals, on federal lands.
• Clarify NEPA by codifying the scope of environmental review, affirming its procedural nature, and establishing defined judicial review provisions, including remand without automatic vacatur.

Take Action Now

Please take a moment to tell your U.S. Senators to cosponsor and support S.4944, the American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026, and help keep affordable, reliable hydropower online.

Need Support or Want to Follow Up?

Refer Senate offices to: 
📧 Matthew Allen, matthew@hydro.org 
📧 Erika Ose, erika@hydro.org