Senate advances bill to extend license for Gibson Dam hydroelectric project
The U.S. Senate advanced a bill this week to extend the deadline for construction of a hydroelectric project involving the Gibson Dam in Great Falls, Montana.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), passed by voice vote. It now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law. The bill would provide a six-year extension of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license for the dam.
“Hydropower is an essential component of our energy strategy, and this emissions-free energy resource should not be bogged down in bureaucratic red tape any longer,” Sen. Greg Walden (R-OR), chairman of the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) said in a joint statement. “We’re thankful for the overwhelming bipartisan support for this legislation and to see it head to President Trump’s desk to ensure that we get these important infrastructure projects built,” they added.
The U.S. Senate also recently passed five bills that emanated from the Energy and Commerce to extend construction licenses for hydro projects in North Carolina, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The lawmakers said the committee has made it a focus to modernize U.S. energy and electricity delivery systems, expand hydropower generation, and modernize the nation’s pipeline and hydropower infrastructure.
