Sentence:  FERC then drew on a potentially significant dictum from "Farmers Union II": "Moving from heavy to <WSD>lighthanded</WSD> regulation within the boundaries of an unchanged statute can ... be justified by a showing that under current circumstances the goal and purposes of the statute will be accomplished through substantially less regulatory oversight." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Gentle; benign and with minimal intervention.