Tennessee's only licensed hydropower project was granted another license today. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a new license for ALCOA's Tapoco project on the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Two weeks after conservation groups filed a motion to dismiss a permit to construct hydropower facilities on the upper Snake River, the prospecting company withdrew their permit. Those of us who treasure the Snake River and its spectacular wild trout fishery can breathe a little easier.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a surprise on Wednesday when it granted Gustavus Electric Company a license to construct a hydropower project in Glacier Bay National Park.

The project is authorized by a law sponsored by then-Senator now-Governor Frank Murkowski. The law allows for a land exchange between state and federal lands upon joint review and approval from FERC and the National Park Service.

The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has ruled that federal energy regulators acted properly in citing environmental concerns and citizen opposition when rejecting preliminary permit applications for two new hydroelectric dams on the mid-Snake River near Twin Falls.

Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held its 4th review of hydropower projects that have applications pending at the commission for 5 years or longer. All hydropower licensing processes allow two years for a license application at the Commission. Several of the 22 reviewed projects have been pending for many more than 5 years, including one project that has been unresolved for decades. 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued new 30-year licenses for five projects on the middle Snake River in Idaho on July 28, 2004. The new licenses were no longer held up by concerns over endangered species because the US. Fish and Wildlife Service entered into a settlement with project owner Idaho Power Company over post-license issuance studies and possible remedial actions. Typically, protection measures come before license issuance, not after.

Adopted in 2003, the ILP was developed to increase process efficiency and integrate development of the license application with FERC's environmental analysis. After July 23, 2005, the ILP will be the default and a licensee must request authorization to use the Traditional Licensing Process (TLP) or the Alternative Licensing Process (ALP). Seven FERC projects, representing nearly every region of the United States, are the first to use the ILP and are hence the "guinea pigs" for the rest of the country.

Court finds agency' s delay on ESA consultation petition “nothing less than egregious”

SEATTLE – Today, calling the agency' s delay “egregious,” a federal court ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to respond to a 1997 petition from conservation groups requesting that the agency consult with NOAA Fisheries on the adverse impacts the Hells Canyon Complex has on endangered salmon and steelhead.

The Cushman Project lies on the North Fork Skokomish River in Washington. On May 21, 1999, FERC issued an Order granting the City of Tacoma' s motion to stay implementation of the new Cushman license pending litigation, including the instream flow provisions. At that time, FERC instituted an interim flow requirement of only 60 cubic feet per second (“ cfs” ), well under the 240 cfs established in the new license. The 60 cfs is wholly inadequate to support a healthy riparian ecosystem and adversely impact fish spawning, rearing, and access to salmon and steelhead habitat.

On August 6th, FERC granted a petition requesting consultation with federal fish agencies over the impacts of Hells Canyon dams on endangered fish species.