A good dam safety solution was one that solved the problem, minimized costs, and satisfied the owner and the regulator. Some believe it was the new interpretations of state authority under the Clean Water Act's Section 401. In fact, it was because the FERC adopted most agency recommendations. The FERC has published information and testified before Congress on several occasions that it accepted more than 90 percent of agency recommendations, even before state authority under Section 401 was expanded. So it was the hydro owners who took the early lead toward settlements to negotiate outcomes they viewed as more equitable.
Owners can now opt for traditional or alternative licensing, or some combination of both.
The appeal of the cooperative approach to licensing is its flexibility. Owners can now choose the approach that works for them. And whatever their choice, they'll inevitably be working in cooperation with stakeholders. In the notice, the FERC asks whether the alternative process should be mandatory and hints at combining the hydro and gas pipeline staffs to handle hydro licenses and pipeline certificates. The FERC licensing process has come a long way in the past few decades.