HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT HANDBOOK FOR FILINGS OTHER THAN LICENSES AND EXEMPTIONS
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FOREWORD
The Hydroelectric Project Handbook For Filings Other Than
Licenses and Exemptions updates information on applying for
preliminary permits, conduit exemptions, amendments of licenses
and exemptions, surrenders and transfers. Updated information
includes more recent policy statements and rulemakings that affect
these proceedings.
On September 15, 1999, the Commission issued a final rule for off-
the-record communications (Docket No. RM98-1-000, Order No.
607). Consistent with the Administrative Procedures Act, the
Commission’s off-the-record communication rules are based on the
basic tenets of fairness that “a hearing is not fair when any party
has private access to the decision maker and can present evidence
or argument that other parties have no opportunity to rebut,” and
“reliance on secret evidence may foreclose meaningful judicial
review.” The final rule sets forth when communications between
the Commission and Commission staff, and persons outside the
Commission, may take place on the record, as well as directions on
how the Secretary’s office will handle and notice both prohibited
and exempted off-the-record communications.
In 1997, the Commission issued a final rule revising its procedural
regulations governing applications for licenses and exemptions for
hydroelectric projects to provide alternative administrative
processes whereby, in appropriate circumstances, the pre-filing
consultation process and the environmental review process can be
combined. This alternative process is designed to improve
communication among affected entities and to be flexible and
tailored to the facts and circumstances of the particular proceeding
(Docket No. RM95-16-000, Order No. 596).
The final rule offers alternative administrative procedures for the
processing of applications that are subject to the pre-filing
consultation rules contained in §4.38 and §16.8 of the regulations,
such as licenses to construct, operate, and maintain hydropower
projects, including applications for certain major amendments to
such licenses, and for applications for exemption from licensing.
Under alternative processes, applicants would complete the
scoping requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) during the pre-filing consultation.
Also in 1998, the Commission participated in a National Review
Group (NRG) convened by the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) comprising more than 30 organizations representing a
diverse cross-section of stakeholders in the hydroelectric licensing
process for the purpose of improving the outcomes of hydroelectric
licensing. The NRG report, Hydro Licensing Forum: Relicensing
Strategies, published in December 2000, includes a section on
anticipating and addressing issues of post-licensing administraiton
and compliance. The report may be obtained from the EPRI
website at www.epri.com.
The Commission published its Electronic Filing Initiative designed
to facilitate licensing proceedings in 1998. As part of this initiative,
the Commission began permitting participants in FERC
proceedings, including preliminary permit applications, conduit
exemption applications, and amendment applications to voluntarily