Abstract:
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to integrate
environmental values into their decision making processes by considering the environmental
impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions. Under the
authority of the Federal Power Act, as amended,1 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) has the exclusive authority to license most nonfederal hydropower
projects located on navigable waterways or federal lands, or connected to the interstate electric
grid. Applicants for licenses may use the integrated, traditional, or alternative licensing process.
This paper discusses the implementation of NEPA within the Commission’s Division of
Hydropower Licensing (DHL) and analyzes the three aforementioned licensing processes. Issues
such as purpose and need and establishing reasonable and viable alternatives will be discussed
and areas such as tribal consultation, scoping, and preparation of the environmental document
will be contrasted and compared.
