FLOWS Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 3518 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 3518 To amend the Federal Power Act to address certain alterations in, and the maintenance and repair of, project works, to provide for the licensing of micro hydrokinetic energy projects, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 17, 2025 Ms. Murkowski (for herself and Mr. King) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Federal Power Act to address certain alterations in, and the maintenance and repair of, project works, to provide for the licensing of micro hydrokinetic energy projects, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Licensing for Operations of Water Structures Act'' or the ``FLOWS Act''. SEC. 2. HYDROPOWER MAINTENANCE AND TEMPORARY ADJUSTMENTS. (a) Alterations in Project Works.--Section 10(b) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding any other requirement of this part, the licensee shall not be required to obtain approval from the Commission for any nonsubstantial alteration or addition to project works under the plans approved by the Commission under section 9(a)(1).''. (b) Maintenance and Repair of Project Works.--Section 10(c) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 803(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding any other requirement of this part, the licensee shall not be required to obtain approval from the Commission for any routine maintenance, repair, or replacement of any portion of a project work