Bill Details
HR.2074 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-03-11 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Introduced Date
2025-03-11
Policy Area
Water Resources Development
Committees
View committees (2)
Sponsors
Cosponsors
8
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would limit when the federal government can remove or shut down certain federally run dams, especially hydropower dams. It says a dam could not be breached if doing so would raise carbon emissions by more than 5 percent, make the waterway less useful for shipping, or increase the cost of goods moved through it by at least 5 percent. It also blocks breaching if the replacement energy project would use more land than the dam by at least 5 percent. In addition, the bill would stop the government from retiring a hydropower source if that would raise electricity rates too much or reduce power reliability in several western states. If a dam or power source is considered for removal, the bill requires federal officials to consult other agencies and review the land use involved.
- The Secretary of the Army could not breach a federally operated dam if the change would increase carbon emissions, hurt commercial navigation, or raise shipping costs by at least 5 percent.
- A dam also could not be breached if the energy project meant to replace it would take up at least 5 percent more land than the dam currently does.
- Before making these decisions, federal officials would have to consult with the Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, and Commerce departments, along with relevant state agencies.
- The bill would also bar retirement of federally operated hydropower if it would raise customer electricity rates by more than 5 percent or reduce reliability by more than 5 percent in parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and California, and it would require full replacement of the retired baseload power within 30 days.
Official Summaries
No summaries available
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2074 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2074
To prohibit the breaching of federally operated dams in certain
circumstances, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2025
Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Mr. Baumgartner, Mr. Fulcher, and Mr. Bentz)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on
Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the breaching of federally operated dams in certain
circumstances, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Our Water Energy
Resources Act'' or the ``POWER Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON BREACHING OF FEDERALLY OPERATED DAMS.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary of the Army may not breach a federally operated dam--
(1) if the Secretary determines that such breach--
(A) would result in an increase in carbon emissions
by more than 5 percent;
(B) would make the body of water impacted by the
breach less navigable for commercial interests; or
(C) would result in increase of at least 5 percent
of the price of any products, including agricultural
products, shipped via the body of water impacted by the
breach; or
(2) if the energy resource intended to replace such dam as
a result of such breach would occupy an area of land that is
larger in acreage than the area occupied by such dam by at
least 5 percent.
(b) Consultation.--In making the determinations required under
subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall--
(1) consult with the Secretary of Energy with respect to
the determination described in subparagraph (A) of such
subsection;
(2) consult with the Secretary of Transportation with
respect to the determination described subparagraph (B) of such
subsection;
(3) consult with the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of Commerce with respect to the determination
described in subparagraph (C) of such subsection; and
(4) consult with the relevant agencies in the State in
which the dam proposed to be breached is located.
(c) Study Required.--If the Secretary considers breaching a
federally operated dam, the Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of the Interior, shall conduct a study analyzing the number
of acres of land such dam occupies.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON RETIREMENT OF ENERGY GENERATION SOURCES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall not retire an energy
generation source if the retirement of that energy generation source
would--
(1) raise customer electricity rates by more than 5
percent; or
(2) decrease energy reliability, as determined by the
Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, in any
portion of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and
California by more than 5 percent of the energy reliability as
compared to the 12 month period before the retirement.
(b) Replacement of Baseload Generation.--Not later than 30 days
after retiring an energy generation source, the Secretary shall ensure
that not less than 100 percent of the baseload generation of the
retired energy generation source has been replaced.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Baseload generation.--The term ``baseload generation''
means the the minimum amount of electric power supplied to an
electrical grid.
(2) Energy generation source.--The term ``energy generation
source'' means a federally operated dam that generates
hydropower.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means--
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, in reference to
an energy generation source operated by the Bureau of
Reclamation; and
(B) the Secretary of the Army, in reference to an
energy generation source operated by the Army Corps of
Engineers.
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