Although the agenda was packed for Sacramento Municiple Utility District's (SMUD) November 3rd board meeting, one of the items not up for discussion was how their ratepayers feel about the current relicensing of SMUD's 17-dam hydropower project on the South Fork American River.

In July, SMUD submitted a license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that will govern operations of the Upper American River Project (UARP) for the next 40 years.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) owns a massive, 17-dam hydropower project on the Upper North Fork American River, in California's Sierra foothills. Environmentalists think the application SMUD submitted to FERC this week for a new, 50-year license does not go far enough in protection of aquatic, riparian, and recreational resources. Because SMUD is an investor-owned utility, a professional poll was conducted to query the thoughts of SMUD's ratepayers.