Murkowski talks up hydro in permitting bill

Driving the news: Murkowski told Axios that "during the recess, our energy teams have been working back and forth" on two amendments she proposed during the July markup.

• One of them would expedite licensing for marine energy facilities, while another would tweak FERC licensing processes for hydropower.
• "We're making some pretty good progress on the marine piece of it," she said.
• Murkowski is seeking to add them to the existing brief hydropower title of the permitting legislation — as opposed to pushing a separate bill through committee.

Between the lines: Right now, the Manchin-Barrasso bill is really the only outlet for the permitting conversation, and it's a delicate bipartisan balance that will be difficult to significantly amend.

• A broader hydro licensing overhaul looks less likely to come to fruition, but we'll likely see a push on that during lame duck, as well.
• "I'm not too panicked that we're going to miss all opportunities if we don't get it in," Murkowski said. "I'm trying to help facilitate incremental wins."