On September 30, 2026, the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources and Environment and Public Works Committees, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), introduced S. 5653, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026. The sweeping permitting reform package is aimed at cutting the delays, costs, and uncertainty that hold back energy and infrastructure projects nationwide.

⚡ For hydropower, the bill includes a dedicated subtitle, drawn largely from the Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act and FLOWS Act. These provisions would: would limit the conditions federal land management agencies can place on a hydropower license to those reasonably related to the project's effects; allow routine maintenance and certain temporary operational adjustments to proceed without prior FERC approval; create an expedited licensing pathway for micro hydrokinetic projects of 5 MW or less; and direct FERC to identify market barriers to hydropower and ways to remove them. The bill also narrows Clean Water Act Section 401 certification to water quality, requires stronger evidence for denials and conditions, and gives issued permits greater durability.

🏛️ S. 5653 also addresses transmission, data center costs, geothermal, mining, and other energy sectors. Senate leaders have signaled it will be among the first items of business when Congress returns after the November elections. In a package this large, individual provisions can be traded away during final negotiations. Hydropower's reforms are reasonable, long overdue, and must stay in the final bill.

✅ NHA urges its members to contact their U.S. Senators and ask them to support S. 5653 and keep its hydropower provisions intact in any final package.

Make Your Message Count: Tell Your Story

Senate offices hear from many groups on permitting reform. A short, specific story from someone in the hydropower industry stands out far more than a form letter. Before you hit send, add two or three sentences to the message drawing on your own experience. Consider:

• Licensing: How long did your last relicensing take, and what did it cost? Were you required to meet conditions that had little to do with your project's actual effects?
• Maintenance: Has a routine repair or upgrade ever sat waiting on federal approval? What did that delay cost in lost generation, downtime, or reliability?
• Investment: Has a modernization, capacity upgrade, pumped storage, or marine energy project been delayed, shelved, or made uneconomic by permitting uncertainty?
• Community: How many jobs does your facility support? How many customers does it serve? How does it help keep the lights on during peak demand or extreme weather?

Use real names, places, and numbers where you can, and keep it brief. Avoid sharing confidential or proprietary information. Most importantly, make the point that these are reasonable, badly needed reforms that keep environmental review in place while making it clearer and more predictable, and ask your Senators not to let hydropower be cut from the final deal.