S. 629: Hydropower Improvement Act of 2011

112th Congress · introduced 2011-03-17 · Energy · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 55.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-03-17 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 55. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Hydropower Improvement Act of 2011

Plain summary

Hydropower Improvement Act of 2011 - Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should increase substantially the capacity and generation of clean, renewable hydropower which will improve the environmental quality of resources and support local job creation and economic investment across the United States. Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish: (1) a grants program for increased hydropower production; and (2) a plan for research, development, and demonstration to increase hydropower capacity, including technical assistance to certain applicants and licensees to perform environmental studies, or comply with applicable environmental requirements. Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to: (1) investigate the feasibility of the issuance of a license for certain hydropower development during the two-year period beginning on the date of commencement of the prefiling licensing process; and (2) hold workshops and develop hydropower pilot projects. Directs FERC to enter into a memorandum of understanding with relevant federal agencies with conditioning authority in order to: (1) establish a coordinated approach to any environmental impact statement or similar analysis relating to the consideration of conduit hydropower projects, and (2) develop an expedited approval process for such projects. Directs the Commissioner of Reclamation and FERC to conduct public workshops on pilot conduit hydropower projects. Directs FERC to conduct regional public workshops to: (1) reduce barriers for small hydroelectric power projects, (2) aggregate appropriate small hydroelectric power projects for consideration in a consolidated license or exemption, and (3) determine whether the rated capacity for small hydroelectric power projects established by FERC should be increased from five electrical megawatts. Directs the Commissioner to study barriers to non-federal hydropower development at Bureau of Reclamation projects. Directs the Secretary to study: (1) the potential quantity of hydropower that may be obtained from conduits in the United States; and (2) federal and nonfederal land that is well-suited for pumped storage sites and is located near existing or potential sites of intermittent renewable resource development, such as wind farms. Directs the President to report to certain congressional committees on actions taken by DOE, the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement the memorandum of understanding on hydropower entered into on March 24, 2010.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Yea” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Hydropower Improvement Act of 2011

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] · 9 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Patty Murray (D-WA), James E. Risch (R-ID), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] reported raising $1.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Exemption: A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s629.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s629 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112