Support Tax Incentives to Remove Outdated Dams, Restore Rivers, and Improve Hydro Dam Operations

Thousands of outdated, unsafe dams are harming river health and putting communities at risk. There are many hydropower dams that are necessary for energy supply but need upgrades to make them less damaging to river health. The HR 2160 / S. 1183 – The Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration Act creates a 30 percent federal investment tax credit for eligible projects to help secure dam safety, fish passage, environmental upgrades, and water quality. It also incentivizes removing outdated and crumbling dams and other obsolete or unsafe river obstructions that harm aquatic ecosystems or impede access to the outdoors.

As budget and reconciliation discussions are underway in Congress, tell your legislators to support critical tax incentives for river restoration and hydropower infrastructure upgrades. Reconciliation is a fast-track legislative process to enact a law which controls revenue and spending among key policy priorities. In the House, as with any legislation, the majority rules. In the Senate, a reconciliation bill requires only a simple majority (51 votes, or 50 if the vice president breaks a tie bypassing a filibuster which requires 60 votes.)  Once both chambers agree on a final bill, it goes to the president to sign or veto.

Check out the fact sheet to learn more.

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Dear {contact_data~salutation}{contact_data~lastName},

I am writing to ask that you cosponsor the HR 2160 / S. 1183 - The Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration Act led by Reps. Adrian Smith and Susan DelBene and Sens. Maria Cantwell and Lisa Murkowski. This timely, transformative legislation is a step in the right direction and will modernize our infrastructure to drive down costs of electricity and restore rivers for healthy communities. 
 
Today, maintaining an aging hydropower fleet requires significant investments to generate power and ensure public safety while protecting healthy rivers. The Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration bill will ensure hydropower continues to meet our energy needs while embracing newer technologies and approaches like fish-friendly turbines and other fish passage devices that will help salmon migrate and spawn more successfully.

Hydropower plays a critical role in our energy independence – providing 6.3% of our nation’s power supply representing 31.5% of renewable energy generation. Its energy role must be balanced with the fundamental goal to mitigate and minimize harm to clean water, and all of the people, fish, and wildlife that depend on healthy rivers. Importantly, the legislation incentivizes removing outdated and crumbling dams and other obsolete or unsafe obstructions that harm aquatic ecosystems or impede access to outdoors.

I support this bipartisan legislation, and the opportunity it brings to balance river restoration with meeting our infrastructure and energy needs of tomorrow. I hope you will cosponsor the legislation and urge your colleagues to do the same.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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