Yesterday, FERC issued a new 30-year license to American Electric Power (AEP), a subsidiary of Appalachian Power Company, for continued operation of the 636 MW Smith Mountain Project.

A panel formed to investigate the study related disputes in the relicensing of Merced River projects has found that FERC erred in limiting the geographic area which needed to be studied for impacts from the project.

The wait is over: 18 months after the Integrated Licensing Process became the new default process obtaining a hydropower license, FERC has published its first review of the ILP's effectiveness. The document, Ideas for Implementing and Participating in the Integrated Licensing Process (ILP) is available for download from FERC's ILP effectiveness homepage. FERC has also put together a summary of comments that it received on the subject. You can read a copy of the Coalition's comments here.

Under the Commission's new Integrated Licensing Process, any study dispute will receive a formal hearing by a three-member panel. The Commission has initiated a drive to find technical experts in all hydropower-relevant fields that will serve on these study dispute panels. There is no deadline for applications.

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.

On January 23, 2004, FERC ruled on HRC's rehearing request for the agency's new licensing regulations establishing the new Integrated Licensing Process. The Commission addressed HRC's rehearing request in its entirety. It also ruled on rehearing requests from the Edison Electric Institute and the Western Urban Water Coalition. Keep reading for a breakdown of how FERC ruled on our major arguments.

FERC released a major rulemaking today: the Commission's new Integrated Licensing Process. This process, also known as the ILP, will become the default licensing process on July 23, 2005.