DamsBipartisan Legislation Addresses Dams’ Safety, Hydropower

Published 13 July 2021

There are more than 90,000 dams in the U.S., including 6,000 “high-hazard” dams with poor, unsatisfactory, or unknown safety ratings, posing threats to life and property. Hydropower is responsible for 6 percent of electricity production in the U.S.— and more than 90 percent of the U.S. current electricity storage capacity — but the dams which generate this power are aging and need upgrades.

The other day Rep. Annie Kuster (D-New Hampshire), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced H.R. 4375, the bipartisan Twenty-First Century Dams Act. The bill makes a $25.8 billion investment in enhancing the safety, grid resilience benefits, and power generating capacity of America’s existing dams while also providing funding to remove dams which are no longer necessary. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) will introduce companion legislation in the Senate later this month.

The United States has more than 90,000 dams, including 6,000 “high-hazard” dams with poor, unsatisfactory, or unknown safety ratings which would pose a threat to human life should they fail. Hydropower is an essential baseload source of renewable energy which is responsible for 6 percent of electricity production in the United States — and more than 90 percent of the U.S. current electricity storage capacity — but the dams which generate this power are aging and need upgrades. Additionally, many of the nation’s dams have outlived their useful life and should be removed to restore rivers to their natural state. 

“We have the opportunity to build stronger, more resilient water infrastructure and hydropower systems in the United States, and the Twenty-First Century Dams Act advances an innovative plan to rehabilitate, retrofit, or remove U.S. dams (the 3Rs) to bolster clean energy production while taking steps to conserve our waterways for generations to come,” said Kuster. “It is rare to see such coordination and unified problem-solving from across industries, and I am proud to introduce this legislation in the House to enhance America’s clean energy production and the health of our nation’s rivers.”

“The Twenty-First Century Dams Act is a critical step in efforts to modernize our nation’s dams and hydropower systems,” said Feinstein. “The bill includes significant investments to increase the safety and power generation of our dams, a particularly important issue for California. Hydropower generation is a critical part of a comprehensive climate strategy to mitigate U.S. carbon emissions, a complement to increasing solar and wind generation. The bill will also allow for the removal of unnecessary dams and the restoration of river ecosystems. We know all too well in California that we must invest in our water infrastructure, and modernizing dams and hydropower is a big step in that direction.”

The sponsors say that the Twenty-First Century Dams Act will:

·  Improve Public Safety: Invests in state dam safety capabilities, expands grant funding for the rehabilitation of existing dams, and makes available low-interest loans to rehabilitate non-federal dams. 

·  Enhance Clean Energy Production and Grid Resilience: Creates a 30% investment tax credit at qualifying dams for safety, environmental improvements, grid flexibility, and dam removals, and invests in existing federal dams to improve their safety and renewable energy generating capacity. 

·  Restore River Ecosystems: Authorizes an interagency and stakeholder advisory committee to help administer a public source of climate resilience and conservation funding to reconnect 10,000 miles of rivers through the removal of 1,000 dams with owner consent. 

The sponsor say that the legislation builds on the negotiations and lessons learned from Stanford University’s Uncommon Dialogue and puts them into action to ensure dams are safe for our communities and designed and operated to meet the climate, economic, and environmental needs of the 21st century.