Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration Act creates a new section 48F investment credit for hydropower improvement property. The credit equals 30 percent of qualified investment for property placed in service after December 31, 2022, if the project has written approval before January 1, 2032 from FERC or the relevant state or local authority. Eligible work includes fish passage, water quality, sediment transport, habitat, dam safety, public access, removal of obsolete river obstructions, and approved remote dams that serve isolated communities outside the major U.S. interconnections. The bill also allows direct payment and transferability, making the credit useful to tax-exempt or low-tax owners.
Who Benefits and How
Hydropower facility owners benefit from a 30 percent tax credit for qualifying improvement investments. Remote communities served by eligible isolated dams benefit if the credit helps put approved remote dams into service. Fish passage and river restoration projects benefit because environmental improvements qualify for the credit. Dam safety projects benefit when upgrades, repairs, or reconstruction are federally or locally approved.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Treasury Department must administer a new section 48F credit with direct-pay and transferability rules. FERC must review or approve qualifying hydropower improvements and remote-dam projects. State dam safety authorities may need to provide written approvals for qualifying investments. Federal taxpayers bear the revenue cost of the new credit.
Key Provisions
- Creates a 30 percent credit for qualified hydropower improvement property.
- Includes fish passage, water quality, sediment transport, habitat, dam safety, public access, obstruction-removal, and remote-dam projects.
- Requires written federal, state, or local approval before January 1, 2032.
- Provides direct payment and transferability for the hydropower credit.
- Applies to property placed in service after December 31, 2022.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a 30 percent federal tax credit for qualified hydropower improvement property, including fish passage, dam safety, water-quality, sediment, recreation, obstruction-removal, and remote-dam service projects approved before 2032.
Key Policy Areas
Energy, Tax, Hydropower, Environmental Restoration
Primary Purpose
Creates a 30 percent federal tax credit for qualified hydropower improvement property, including fish passage, dam safety, water-quality, sediment, recreation, obstruction-removal, and remote-dam service projects approved before 2032.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Hydropower facility owners
- Remote communities served by eligible dams
- River restoration projects
- Dam safety projects
Identified Costs
- Treasury Department
- FERC
- State dam safety authorities
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Smith of Nebraska (for himself, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Fitzpatrick, …
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Hydropower facility owners, Remote communities served by eligible dams
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology