Cortez Masto Bills to Combat Drought, Bolster Hydroelectric Power Pass Committee

Washington, D.C. - Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) passed two of U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto's (D-Nev.) bipartisan bills, the Large-Scale Water Recycling Reauthorization Act and the Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act. These bills, which would combat drought and bolster America's hydroelectric power capacity, now head to the Senate floor for consideration.

"Drought and high energy costs are not partisan issues - they impact every family throughout the American West," said Senator Cortez Masto. "The key legislation that I advanced today would conserve water, reducing strain on the Colorado River, and strengthen our clean energy economy, cutting costs and creating jobs. I urge my colleagues to pass both bills into law."

In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Senator Cortez Masto included a provision to create the Large-Scale Water Recycling Project Grant Program, which established a $450 million grant program for large-scale water recycling projects, including a joint project between the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Southern Nevada Water Authority that will produce enough recycled water to serve about 500,000 households in Southern California and Southern Nevada and will help keep more water in Lake Mead. Funding for the grant program will expire at the end of this fiscal year. The Large-Scale Water Recycling Reauthorization Act, which Senator Cortez Masto led alongside Senator John Curtis (R-Utah), would extend the program for another five years.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulates 1,600 hydropower projects at over 2,500 dams. These hydroelectric facilities are required to relicense with the FERC every 30 to 50 years. Recently, delays at the FERC have led to the relicensing process taking an average of seven to ten years. The Hydropower Relicensing Transparency Act, which Senator Cortez Masto led alongside Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.), directs the FERC to report annually to Congress on the status of the licensing process for each application for a hydropower dam license.

Senator Cortez Masto has used her seat on ENR to advance legislation that meets the needs of Nevadans. Her bipartisan legislation to use strategic grazing to reduce the risk of wildfires, provide resources to states to prevent and combat wildfires, and allow critical mineral production to continue in the West have all passed ENR. She has used her ENR seat to press Trump Administration officials on their dangerous policies and to urge her colleagues to pass her Southern Nevada Lands Bill.

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