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S. 4992Senate119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

A bill to require the Secretary of the Army to issue guidance relating to the review of applications for alteration or temporary or permanent occupation or use of certain hydropower projects, and for other purposes.

Sponsored by Steve DainesSen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
Introduced July 15, 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated July 21, 2026 at 2:22 AM UTC

The bill directs the Secretary of the Army to issue guidance within one year on how to review Section 408 applications for non‑federal hydropower projects that seek to alter, occupy, or use a project. The guidance would create a standardized checklist and clear rules for what counts as a complete application, and it would limit the Army’s initial review to paperwork checks only. This aims to make the review process more predictable for hydropower developers, the Army Corps of Engineers, and related regulators.

Key Provisions

  • The Secretary must develop a checklist of required materials for Section 408 applications, in consultation with the FERC, the Corps’ Hydroelectric Design Center, project operators, and industry groups.
  • The guidance must define what makes an application “complete,” covering required documents, formatting, and evidence of existing FERC licenses.
  • For applications that need a phased design review, the guidance must set out the scope, objectives, timelines, and definitions of terms like “fatal flaw” and “technical review,” while stating that the completeness review does not include detailed technical analysis.
  • The guidance must include escalation procedures for cases where application deadlines are missed, directing referrals to senior Corps officials.
  • The completeness review is limited to confirming that all required documents are submitted, properly formatted, and meet the checklist; it may not involve technical design evaluation, request design changes, or impose new environmental standards after submission.

Legislative Activity

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SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Environment and Public Works Committee

July 15, 2026

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

July 15, 2026

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Environment and Public Works Committee

July 15, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued July 15, 2026

II

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 4992

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 15, 2026

Mr. Daines (for himself and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Army to issue guidance relating to the review of applications for alteration or temporary or permanent occupation or use of certain hydropower projects, and for other purposes.

1.

Standardized review procedures for hydropower projects

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Completeness review

The term completeness review means a review by the Secretary (or a designee) regarding whether a section 408 application is complete.

(2)

Hydropower project

The term hydropower project means any non-Federal hydropower project requiring a license or exemption under the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.).

(3)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Army.

(4)

Section 408 application

The term section 408 application means an application relating to a hydropower project for permission under section 14 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat. 1152, chapter 425; 33 U.S.C. 408), for an alteration, or temporary or permanent occupation or use, described in subsection (a) of that section.

(b)

Standardized review procedures

(1)

Mandatory guidance

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue guidance establishing the following:

(A)

Application checklist

A standardized checklist of required materials for section 408 applications, to be developed in consultation with—

(i)

the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;

(ii)

the Hydroelectric Design Center of the Corps of Engineers;

(iii)

hydropower project operators; and

(iv)

relevant industry associations.

(B)

Completeness criteria

A clear description of what constitutes a complete section 408 application, including with respect to—

(i)

required documents and analyses;

(ii)

formatting and submission requirements; and

(iii)

evidence of compliance with any applicable Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license.

(C)

Phased review procedures

For section 408 applications for which a phased design review is required—

(i)

the specific scope and objectives of each review phase;

(ii)

a timeline for each review phase;

(iii)

an applicable definition of the terms fatal flaw, final quality assurance, and technical review; and

(iv)

a clear statement that a completeness review shall not include—

(I)

detailed technical analysis; or

(II)

any engineering-related judgment with respect to design adequacy.

(D)

Escalation procedures

Procedures for referring a section 408 application to the head of the applicable Division Office of the Corps of Engineers or an official at the Corps of Engineers headquarters in any case in which a deadline applicable to the section 408 application is not met.

(2)

Scope of completeness reviews

The guidance issued under paragraph (1) shall establish that a completeness review shall be limited to verification that—

(A)

all required documents have been submitted;

(B)

those documents are in the required format; and

(C)

the section 408 application addresses the applicable requirements of the checklist under paragraph (1)(A).

(3)

Prohibitions

In conducting a completeness review, the Secretary (or a designee) may not—

(A)

conduct a detailed technical review of any engineering calculations;

(B)

evaluate the design adequacy of, or alternative approaches to, the hydropower project that is the subject of the section 408 application;

(C)

request any design modification to, or additional analysis of, the hydropower project that is the subject of the section 408 application;

(D)

consider any factor other than a factor included in the standardized checklist under paragraph (1)(A); or

(E)

require compliance with any environmental standard that was not established by a Federal or relevant State agency before the date of submission of the section 408 application.