Matthew D. Manahan

  • April 27, 2022

FERC Holds Technical Conference to Consider Financial Assurance for Hydropower Projects

Clean Energy, FERC, Permitting, Regulatory
Authors:
Practice area:
Industries:

On April 26, 2022 FERC held a Commission staff-led technical conference to discuss whether and, if so, how the Commission should require additional financial assurance mechanisms in the licenses and other authorizations it issues for hydroelectric projects.  The purpose of this effort is to ensure that licensees have the capability to carry out license requirements and, particularly, to maintain their projects in safe condition.  The technical conference followed, by over a year, the Commission’s January 26, 2021 notice of inquiry (NOI) seeking comments on potential changes to FERC’s rules relating to financial assurance for hydropower projects.

Background

The genesis of FERC’s January 2021 NOI was FERC’s concern that inadequate financing of hydropower projects may result in threats to public safety and environmental resources, especially for nonoperational projects.  FERC specifically noted recent experiences where a lack of funding for needed dam safety repairs led to several dam failures in 2020.  Therefore, FERC is considering whether to take additional measures to ensure that licensees have the

Continue Reading...
  • April 15, 2022

Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to Reclassify Northern Long-eared Bat as Endangered

Clean Energy, Construction, Permitting, Regulatory, Renewable Energy, Siting, Wind Power
Authors:
Practice area:
Industries:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing to change the classification of the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Reclassifying the NLEB will have major implications for development projects throughout the U.S., particularly in wind energy development.

The FWS classifies a species as threatened when the species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future in all or a portion of its range. A species is endangered when it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Due to the fungal disease white-nose syndrome, the NLEB has experienced a steep decline in population across its 37-state range, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. In 2015, the FWS classified the NLEB as threatened due to the decline in population, and issued an ESA Section 4(d) rule allowing an incidental “take” of NLEB subject to certain conditions.

In 2020, under court order, the

Continue Reading...