Rivers at Risk: Concerned Citizen's Guide to Hydropower - Softcover

Echeverria, John; Barrow, Pope; Roos-Collins, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0933280823 ISBN 13: 9780933280823

Verlag: ISLAND PR, 1989

Inhaltsangabe

Rivers at Risk

is an invaluable handbook that offers a practical understanding of how to influence government decisions about hydropower development on America's rivers.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

John D. Echeverria was general counsel of American Rivers and the director of its National Center for Hydropower Policy. Prior to joining American Rivers in 1987, he was an associate with the law firm of Hughes Hubbard and Reed in Washington, D.C., and the law clerk to the Honorable Gerhard Gesell. Mr. Echeverria is a graduate of the Yale Law School and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. A fisherman and canoeist, Mr. Echeverria has written extensively on energy and environmental matters.

Pope Barrow is an attorney with substantial experience in environmental and energy law. He is former director of the American White-water Affiliation. Mr. Barrow, an avid white-water enthusiast, has written extensively on river conservation issues. In 1987, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to river conservation, Perception, Inc., awarded Mr. Barrow the River Conservationist of the Year Award. Mr. Barrow is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School.

Richard Roos-Collins was Deputy Attorney General in environmental law for the state of California. Previous to that position, he was a staff attorney with the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. Mr. Roos-Collins was formerly publicist and litigation coordinator for Friends of the River, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving California's wild rivers. He is a graduate of Princeton and of Harvard Law School.

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Rivers at Risk

The Concerned Citizen's Guide to Hydropower

By John D. Echeverria, Pope Barrow, Richard Roos-Collins

ISLAND PRESS

Copyright © 1989 American Rivers
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-933280-82-3

Contents

About Island Press, 
About American Rivers, 
Title Page, 
Copyright Page, 
Foreword, 
Acknowledgments, 
Introduction, 
Chapter 1 - The Center of the Action: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
Chapter 2 - An Overview of the Regulatory Process, 
Chapter 3 - New Projects: Standards and Procedures, 
Chapter 4 - Relicensing: Standards and Procedures, 
Chapter 5 - Participating in the FERC Process, 
Chapter 6 - Raising Issues before FERC, 
Chapter 7 - Other Tools for Protecting Rivers, 
Chapter 8 - Strategies for Effectively Dealing with Hydroelectric Projects, 
Appendix A - FERC Addresses and Telephone Numbers, 
Appendix B - Conservation Groups Concerned About Hydropower Issues, 
Appendix C - Model Motion to Intervene, 
Appendix D - A FERC Licensing Order, 
Appendix E - FERC's NEPA Regulations, 
Appendix F - FERC's Freedom of Information Regulations, 
Appendix G - FERC's 1989–1999 Relicensing Workload, 
Appendix H - How to Find and Use the Legal Documents on Which FERC Relies, 
Glossary of Hydropower Terms, 
Index, 
About the Authors, 
Also Available from Island Press, 
ISLAND PRESS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 

CHAPTER 1

The Center of the Action: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

FERC's origin and traditional attitudes toward hydro development • the scope of FERC's jurisdiction • FERC's organization • the quasi-judicial character of FERC • PURPA—the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act

CITIZENS ARE COMMONLY SURPRISED to learn that the fate of their favorite stream may be decided by a little-known agency in Washington, D.C., named the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission—more commonly called FERC or the Commission. Under federal law, the Commission has primary authority to decide whether a proposed hydroelectric project may be built, and on what terms. Various federal and state agencies also play important roles in regulating hydroelectric development, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is at the center of the action.

This chapter provides an overview of the Commission's place in the hydroelectric regulatory process and of its jurisdiction and methods of operation.

THE HISTORY OF HYDROPOWER REGULATION

The Commission, originally known as the Federal Power Commission, was established by the Federal Water Power Act of 1920, renamed the Federal Power Act in 1935. In the early part of this century, Congress became frustrated with the division of authority over hydroelectric development among different agencies and enacted the Federal Water Power Act. Its primary purpose was to reduce administrative confusion by centralizing the planning and regulation of hydroelectric power in a single agency.

Congress's move to streamline the administrative process in 1920 was, in part, to encourage development of river resources for more power. In 1920, hydropower was generally viewed as a boon to economic development, and free-flowing rivers were considered just one more element of the limitless bounty of nature. Today, nearly 70 years later, the public has a more balanced view of hydropower development, and a greater appreciation of the value of free-flowing rivers.

Over the last several decades, in response to these new attitudes, the concentration of authority in the Commission has been steadily eroded, and there has been a corresponding increase in the authority of other federal and state agencies. As a result of the 1972 amendments to the Clean Water Act, the states and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now have independent authority to decide whether or not to permit the construction of nonfederal hydroelectric projects. Similarly, the authority of the federal land management agencies to regulate nonfederal hydroelectric development on their lands has, arguably, been strengthened by other reforms to federal laws. (See chapter 7 for a detailed discussion of these laws.)

More recently, Congress enacted the Electric Consumers Protection Act of 1986 (ECPA), adopting important amendments to the Federal Power Act. ECPA strengthens the authority of federal and state fish and wildlife agencies over hydroelectric development. ECPA also directs the Commission to give "equal consideration" to power generation and the recreational and ecological values of free-flowing streams in making its decisions. ECPA requires the Commission, for the first time, to consider whether proposed developments are consistent with state scenic rivers programs and other state or federal river plans.

Despite these important legislative reforms, the Commission has responded slowly to its evolving mandate; the original goal of facilitating hydroelectric development through centralized regulatory control remains entrenched in the thinking at FERC. An understanding of the Commission's institutional bias for promoting hydropower is essential if an effective strategy for dealing with a hydropower proposal is to be developed. The Commission can be convinced, and forced through court action if necessary, to do well by the environment. But citizens may be disappointed if they rely on the goodwill of the Commission to protect the best local boating or fishing stream from inappropriate hydroelectric development.

Though FERC remains at the center of the action, the increasing involvement of other federal and state agencies in the regulatory process means that you should not overlook the possibility of achieving your objectives through these other agencies. Frequently, state and federal resource management agencies are more sympathetic to environmental concerns than is the Commission because these agencies are specifically charged with protecting the resources. Sometimes these agencies have the authority to stop projects, or at least to ensure that adverse environmental effects are mitigated.

THE SCOPE OF FERC'S JURISDICTION

The jurisdiction of the Commission over hydroelectric development was created by the Federal Power Act. In practice, however, the Commission has jurisdiction over the overwhelming majority of nonfederal hydroelectric projects built or proposed in the United States. Thus, most citizens concerned with particular projects will not be affected by the issue of Commission jurisdiction. Nevertheless, for those interested, it is summarized here. The Commission has mandatory jurisdiction over any proposed or existing hydroelectric project

• if it occupies federal public lands or federal reservations, including Forest Service lands, Bureau of Land Management lands, and Indian reservations

• if it is located on a navigable stream, including, for example, any river historically used to transport logs

• if it uses "surplus" water or water power from a federal government dam, such as a dam constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Bureau of Reclamation

• if it was constructed after 26 August, 1935 and is "located on a non-navigable stream subject to Congress' jurisdiction under the Commerce Clause [or that] affect[s] the interests of interstate or foreign commerce," including any project that feeds power into an interstate power grid

As discussed above, Commission jurisdiction is confined to hydroelectric developments sponsored by...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: ISLAND PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1989
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0933280823
• ISBN 13: 9780933280823
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 229
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Buchbär; info@buchbaer.de; ; Weberstr. 67; Osnabrück; 49084; Deutschland