{"id":16187,"date":"2023-09-25T11:30:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T16:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/?p=16187"},"modified":"2023-09-26T11:33:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T16:33:11","slug":"appa-emphasizes-need-to-streamline-and-reform-hydropower-licensing-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/appa-emphasizes-need-to-streamline-and-reform-hydropower-licensing-process\/","title":{"rendered":"APPA Emphasizes Need to Streamline and Reform Hydropower Licensing Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"16187\" class=\"elementor elementor-16187\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-bd6d157 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"bd6d157\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e82e200\" data-id=\"e82e200\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f0d6ea6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f0d6ea6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 30-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-xxl\">APPA Emphasizes Need to Streamline and Reform Hydropower Licensing Process<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-244fb47 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"244fb47\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">September 25, 2023<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7873e40 elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon elementor-view-default elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"7873e40\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 30-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-divider{--divider-border-style:none;--divider-border-width:1px;--divider-color:#0c0d0e;--divider-icon-size:20px;--divider-element-spacing:10px;--divider-pattern-height:24px;--divider-pattern-size:20px;--divider-pattern-url:none;--divider-pattern-repeat:repeat-x}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider{display:flex}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{font-size:15px;line-height:1;max-width:95%}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__element{margin:0 var(--divider-element-spacing);flex-shrink:0}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-icon{font-size:var(--divider-icon-size)}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider-separator{display:flex;margin:0;direction:ltr}.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon 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.elementor-divider__element{margin-inline-end:0}.elementor-widget-divider:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text):not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon) .elementor-divider-separator{border-block-start:var(--divider-border-width) var(--divider-border-style) var(--divider-color)}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern{--divider-border-style:none}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern.elementor-widget-divider--view-line .elementor-divider-separator,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:before,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not([class*=elementor-widget-divider--view]) .elementor-divider-separator{width:100%;min-height:var(--divider-pattern-height);-webkit-mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;-webkit-mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);background-color:var(--divider-color);-webkit-mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url);mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url)}.elementor-widget-divider--no-spacing{--divider-pattern-size:auto}.elementor-widget-divider--bg-round{--divider-pattern-repeat:round}.rtl .elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{direction:rtl}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-divider,.e-con>.elementor-widget-divider{width:var(--container-widget-width,100%);--flex-grow:var(--container-widget-flex-grow)}<\/style>\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-icon elementor-divider__element\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-newspaper\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M552 64H88c-13.255 0-24 10.745-24 24v8H24c-13.255 0-24 10.745-24 24v272c0 30.928 25.072 56 56 56h472c26.51 0 48-21.49 48-48V88c0-13.255-10.745-24-24-24zM56 400a8 8 0 0 1-8-8V144h16v248a8 8 0 0 1-8 8zm236-16H140c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-8c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h152c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v8c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12zm208 0H348c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-8c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h152c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v8c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12zm-208-96H140c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-8c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h152c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v8c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12zm208 0H348c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-8c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h152c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v8c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12zm0-96H140c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-40c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h360c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v40c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3ded7136 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3ded7136\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5e96dfd\" data-id=\"5e96dfd\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-79a67511 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"79a67511\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 30-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p><strong>by Paul Ciampoli<br \/>APPA News Director<br \/><\/strong><strong>September 25, 2023<\/strong><\/p><p>The American Public Power Association on Sept. 19 underscored the need to streamline and reform the licensing process for hydropower projects.<\/p><p>Desmarie Waterhouse, Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Communications &amp; General Counsel at APPA, outlined APPA\u2019s positions on hydropower in a Statement for the Record submitted for a hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee\u2019s Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security.<\/p><p>In the statement, Waterhouse also noted APPA\u2019s strong support for legislation sponsored by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who is Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.<\/p><p>The legislation is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/d12t4t5x3vyizu.cloudfront.net\/mcmorris.house.gov\/uploads\/2023\/06\/HydropowerCleanEnergyFutureAct.pdf\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\" data-feathr-link-aids=\"[&quot;5fd8ddadf7eaa86cf1b51708&quot;]\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">H.R. 4045, the Hydropower Clean Energy Future Act<\/a>, which would confirm that hydropower is an essential renewable energy resource and reform the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission\u2018s licensing process to protect existing hydropower resources and encourage the development of small and next-generation projects.<\/p><p>There is significant potential for new hydropower to be generated at non-powered dams throughout the country and to increase output at existing hydropower facilities, Waterhouse said in the Statement for the Record. \u201cBut there are excessive barriers to tapping this potential.\u201d<\/p><p>FERC is the primary federal agency responsible for the licensing and relicensing of such non-federal hydroelectric projects, \u201cbut the process can be lengthy, difficult, costly, and uncertain for applicants,\u201d Waterhouse said.<\/p><p>Under the Federal Power Act, FERC must establish requirements in conjunction with the license that give \u201cequal consideration\u201d to not only power needs, but also Endangered Species Act requirements, water quality issues, marine navigation, and other public-interest concerns.<\/p><p>\u201dFERC must carefully evaluate many aspects of a hydropower project, but at the same time, state and federal agencies can impose \u2018mandatory conditions\u2019 that FERC cannot balance or modify in the public interest,\u201d Waterhouse said.<\/p><p>\u201cWhile it is appropriate to consider a broad array of factors, this process must be streamlined and reformed. Critical new additions to existing hydropower facilities are languishing under bureaucratic and often contradictory processes that can span a decade or more or which simply become too costly,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>\u201cThe byzantine licensing and permitting processes are also a significant impediment to simply maintaining existing hydropower capacity.\u201d<\/p><p>Between now and 2030, 281 facilities representing nearly 14 gigawatts of hydropower generation and pumped storage capacity (roughly 30 percent of FERC hydropower licenses) are up for relicensing.<\/p><p>\u201cWe simply cannot afford to lose existing hydropower capacity without threatening to miss emission reduction goals and grid resiliency,\u201d Waterhouse wrote.<\/p><p>APPA commended McMorris Rodgers\u2019 recognition of the importance of hydropower and her efforts to protect and expand its use in her bill, H.R. 4045, the Hydropower Clean Energy Future Act.<\/p><p>The bill would establish a sense of Congress that hydropower \u201cis a renewable resource for purposes of all Federal Programs and is an essential source of energy in the United States,\u201d ensure any \u201cmandatory conditions\u201d are directly relevant to the project, and designate FERC as the lead agency for purposes of National Environmental Policy Act review with respect to all federal authorizations required for licensing.<\/p><p><b>Federal Power Marketing Administrations<\/b><\/p><p>The Statement for the Record also addressed the key role that federal hydropower and federal Power Marketing Administrations play as \u201ccritical, though often overlooked, elements of the nation\u2019s power supply.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cAPPA supports the continued existence and federal ownership of the PMAs and the sale of federally generated hydropower at cost-based rates,\u201d wrote Waterhouse.<\/p><p>\u201cAPPA strongly opposes any efforts to disproportionately assign costs to federal hydropower users for which they receive no additional benefit,\u201d Waterhouse said.<\/p><p>In the statement, APPA highlighted a May 2023 letter from the four PMA administrators to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor regarding Corps policies and practices that are impacting the economic viability of federal hydropower and are leading to permanent reductions in generation capability.<\/p><p>APPA also submitted a policy resolution approved by APPA\u2019s membership, \u201cIn Support of Hydropower, the Federal Columbia River Power System, and Opposing Breach of the Lower Snake River Dams.\u201d<\/p><p><b>Details from Hearing<\/b><\/p><p>Witnesses at the hearing on Sept. 20 were Terry Turpin, Director of the Office of Energy Projects, FERC, John Hairston, Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration, Thomas Smith, Chief of Operations and Regulatory Division, Army Corps of Engineers and Matt Lee-Ashley, Chief of Staff, Council on Environmental Quality.<\/p><p>Subcommittee members unanimously said that they supported hydropower and highlighted its benefits to grid reliability.<\/p><p>But Democrats and Republicans split when discussing the specific provisions of H.R. 4045.<\/p><p>Republicans said the legislation is urgently needed to reform and streamline the licensing\/relicensing process, noting that nearly half of the non-federal U.S. hydropower fleet will be up for relicensing by 2035 and citing the fact that only three percent of the nation\u2019s 90,000 dams provide hydropower.<\/p><p>Democrats said that H.R. 4045 would create significant exemptions that bypass some of the most important environmental laws.<\/p><p>Democrats, including Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette, D-Colo., expressed concern with certain provisions of the bill including its exemption of projects 40 megawatts or less from certain licensing and environmental reviews from the previous exemption level of 10 megawatts.<\/p><p>FERC\u2019s Turpin said that about 80% of the existing dams regulated by FERC are 40 megawatts or less.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The American Public Power Association on Sept. 19 underscored the need to streamline and reform the licensing process for hydropower projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,29],"tags":[70],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kpp.agency\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}