Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held an oversight hearing on advancing water infrastructure and hydropower development. Subcommittee Chair Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) issued the following statement in response:

"Water is the interior West’s most important resource. In my home state of Wyoming, access to water resources is crucial to our success. Our rivers, lakes, reservoirs, dams, canal, laterals, siphons, headgates and tunnels are key to ensuring that we have an adequate water supply to meet the demands and needs of our citizens, ag and energy producers, small business owners, and manufacturers. Continuing to support the Bureau of Reclamation’s work, maintaining the infrastructure that we have, and increasing our nation’s water storage and conveyance capacity means more food, more energy, and more prosperity for generations to come across the United States."

Background

America’s first renewable energy source, hydropower, has been providing reliable, flexible, low-cost, emission-free, baseload energy across the country for more than 100 years. Congressional Republicans are committed to modernizing the federal water infrastructure and ensuring this reliable energy source remains part of the grid for generations to come.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) manages federal water projects for agricultural activities, municipal and industrial use, hydropower production, flood control and recreation for millions of people across the United States. The BOR is the second largest producer of renewable, baseload, hydroelectric power, providing 14 percent of the nation’s hydroelectric capacity and generation.

BOR operates many facilities and projects that are facing problems related to aging infrastructure. The House Committee on Natural Resources is examining the regulatory challenges that projects face from laws like the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Through careful and thoughtful examination of these laws, committee members can advance legislative solutions to modernize BOR’s aging infrastructure and support the continued generation of clean, reliable and low-cost baseload electricity across the country.

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