FERC's dam decommissioning authority under the Federal Power Act

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asserted in a 1994 Policy S tatement that it has the authority under the Federal Power Act to deny a ne w license for a hydroelectric dam or impose environmental conditions on a n ew license that may render a project unprofitable, when doing so is in the public interest. In addition, FERC stated that it would impose decommission ing costs on the dam owner. The hydroelectric industry claims that FERC lac ks the authority to take these actions, and that if maintaining a dam is no longer in the public interest, either the federal government or another pa rty must pay the current owner to take over the project. To date, FERC has only invoked the Policy Statement twice. The hydroelectric industry is oppo sed to both FERC orders, but the FERC Policy Statement remains untested in court. This Comment analyzes the Federal Power Act in light of FERC's claim ed authority under the Policy Statement, and argues that FERC possesses the authority to deny a license or to impose uneconomic conditions in fulfilli ng its statutory duty to protect the public interest.