A Discussion of the Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) within the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Division of Hydropower Licensing and a Comparison of NEPA within Their Three Licensing Procedures
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.
Type
Capstone paperPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3224Citation
Templeton, Carolyn (2009). A Discussion of the Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
within the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Division of Hydropower Licensing
and a Comparison of NEPA within Their Three Licensing Procedures. Capstone paper, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3224.Collections
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Rights for Collection: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Education and Certificate Program Capstone Papers
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