Contact: Andrew Fahlund or Eric Eckl, American Rivers, at 202-347-7550

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2005

The House energy bill making its way through Congress would unfairly give electric utilities the last word in negotiations over the future of the rivers they have dammed to generate hydroelectric power, conservationists testified to the House Energy and Commerce Committee today. American Rivers and the Hydropower Reform Coalition called on committee members to reject the bill and work toward a national energy policy that ensures a cleaner, safer, and more independent energy future.

"At best, this is a case of fixing what isn't broken," said Andrew Fahlund, vice president for river protection and restoration at American Rivers. "At worst, it is a case of breaking what has already been fixed."

Utilities that own and operate hydroelectric dams must periodically secure new licenses from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that include basic environmental requirements imposed by natural resource agencies. The energy bill would significantly prejudice those resource agencies in favor of industry by granting utilities a unique right of administrative appeal to political appointees.

Since 1997, when industry lobbyists first introduced this legislation, hundreds of hydroelectric dams have been relicensed. While communities along these dammed rivers have benefited from fishery restoration, recreational improvement, and recreational enhancement steps, the industry has secured opportunities to upgrade its equipment and plan future operations with certainty.

Many of the claims made by industry to support the legislation have proven to be unfounded:

• There has been almost no lost power. According to FERC, relicensing results in a per-project loss of only 1.6 percent of generation.
• There have been no rate hikes. No one in industry has been able to point to a significant residential consumer rate hike as a result of relicensing.
• Delays are on the wane. The average time to relicense a hydropower project is dropping.
• Relicensing is typically win-win. 70 percent of the electric capacity relicensed since 2001 has been the result of amicably negotiated settlements.

In contrast, if Congress creates a unique appeals process that only the industry can take advantage of, it will cause three serious problems:

• It will prejudice the negotiations against communities. Every interest along a dammed river will find the odds stacked against them when discussing the future of a public resource.
• It will complicate the negotiations. This title creates 3 new administrative processes, including a "trial type hearing" that will take an average of 24 months to complete.
• It will diminish environmental protections and restoration opportunities. Environmental, tribal, recreational, and other interests have no right to challenge a decision that is not strict enough.

"The proponents of this legislation trust electric utilities with the management of their rivers, more than states, tribes, local land owners, or fishermen," said Fahlund. "Congress should reject this language along with the rest of the energy bill."

American Rivers is the leader of the national river movement and a longstanding participant in the area of hydropower dam regulation. American Rivers chairs the Hydropower Reform Coalition, a consortium of 130 conservation, recreation, and homeowner groups from around the nation whose common goal is ecological and recreational enhancements at hydropower dams.