At its May 23, 2024 open meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing to establish a one-year “reasonable period of time” for certifying authorities to...more
6/11/2024
/ Clean Water Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Final Rules ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Section 401 ,
Water ,
Water Quality
At its May 23 open meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), proposing to establish a one-year “reasonable period of time” for certifying authorities to act on...more
6/5/2024
/ Clean Water Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Final Rules ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Section 401 ,
Water ,
Water Quality
2022 was an active year for the hydropower industry, and as 2023 begins, it’s appropriate to review last year’s highlights and forecast the anticipated trends to continue this year. ...more
In December 2022, several federal agencies announced awards and recommendations for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding. The BIL represents a core piece of President Biden’s agenda and provides significant funding for...more
2/15/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Bipartisan Agreement ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Federal Funding ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Regulatory Agenda
On August 1, the Supreme Court of California upheld a decision by the Court of Appeal, which found that the Federal Power Act (FPA) preempts application of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when the state is...more
On September 9, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it would distribute $13.5 million to incentivize hydroelectric generation in the United States. The financial support is part of the Hydroelectric Production...more
On September 22, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) issued an order on rehearing (Rehearing Order), denying the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (Interior) request to include a requirement for a...more
On April 15, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Equity Action Plan (EAP) that introduces a two-year overhaul to review its policies to better promote equity and remove barriers to environmental...more
On June 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of its proposal to re-write the Clean Water Act Section 401 rule (Certification Proposal), which, if finalized, is expected to have...more
On April 3, representatives of the hydropower industry, Native American tribes, and conservation organizations provided a package of proposed legislative reforms to the Federal Power Act (FPA) to the ranking members of the...more
On February 22, 2022, FERC issued a Supplemental Notice regarding its planned Technical Conference on its Notice of Inquiry on Financial Assurance Measures for licenses, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 26 at...more
On October 21, the Department of Energy (DOE)’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) issued An Examination of the Hydropower Licensing and Federal Authorization Process, in which it examined the various statutory and...more
On October 21, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) issued an Order to Show Cause and Notice of Proposed Penalty to Ampersand Cranberry Lake Hydro, LLC (Ampersand)....more
Section 7(h) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and Section 21 Federal Power Act (FPA) respectively vest Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) natural gas pipeline certificate holders or hydroelectric licensees...more
In June 2021, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced The Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectric and River Restoration Act of 2021, which would establish a tax credit for certain investments in...more
On July 14, 2021, the City and County of Denver, Colorado, acting through its Board of Water Commissioners (“Denver Water”), filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, requesting...more
In an order dated May 20, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC, or the Commission) terminated the hydropower licenses for three projects located on the Tittabawasee River in Michigan—the Secord (P-10809),...more
Happy new year!
We begin 2021 with a transition of leadership in the Presidency and the U.S. Senate, and with the recent news that President Biden has named Richard Glick as the new FERC Chair. All of these changes in...more
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which includes a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill for fiscal year (FY) 2021 along with $900 billion in COVID-19 stimulus relief. ...more
On Tuesday, October 13, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) announced its partnership with American Rivers, the World Wildlife Fund, and other environmental groups in a “Joint Statement of Collaboration on U.S....more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) released a Notice of Inquiry (Notice) on January 19, 2021 to solicit public comments on whether FERC should impose financial assurance requirements on...more
Our lead article this month concerns the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) long-awaited final rule on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The rule introduces sweeping changes to the NEPA regulations, aimed at...more