16 U.S.C. § 823a — Conduit hydroelectric facilities

(a) (1) A qualifying conduit hydropower facility does not need a license under this subchapter. (2)(A) A person, State, or municipality proposing to build one must file a notice of intent with the Commission. The notice must contain enough information to show that the facility meets the qualifying criteria. (B) Within 15 days after receiving the notice, the Commission must make an initial determination and, if it finds the criteria met, publish public notice of the notice of intent. (C) Within 30 days after that publication, if an entity contests whether the facility meets the criteria, the Commission must promptly issue a written determination. If no entity contests it, the facility is treated as meeting the criteria. (3) “Conduit” means a tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water carrier operated to distribute water for agricultural, municipal, or industrial use, and not mainly to generate electricity. “Qualifying conduit hydropower facility” means a facility, excluding a dam or other impoundment, that is determined or treated under paragraph (2)(C) to meet the criteria. “Qualifying criteria” means that the facility: (i) is built, operated, or maintained to generate electric power and uses only the hydroelectric potential of a conduit not owned by the Federal Government; (ii) has no more than 40 megawatts of installed capacity; and (iii) was not licensed or exempted from licensing under this subchapter on or before August 9, 2013. (b) Subject to subsection (c), the Commission may by rule or order exempt all or part of a facility’s requirements under this subchapter, including licensing requirements, if the facility (excluding a dam or other impoundment) generates power using only a conduit’s hydroelectric potential and has no more than 40 megawatts of installed capacity. (c) When making that decision, the Commission must consult the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the State fish-and-wildlife agency for the facility’s State, as provided by the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. Any exemption must include terms and conditions each of those agencies considers appropriate to prevent loss of or damage to fish and wildlife resources and carry out that Act, plus terms and conditions the Commission considers appropriate to ensure continued compliance with this section and the exemption. (d) Violating an exemption’s term or condition is treated as violating a Commission rule or order under this chapter. (e) In addition to section 803(e) requirements, the Commission must establish fees for an applicant for a license or exemption when fish-and-wildlife agencies set terms and conditions under subsection (c). The fees must reimburse those agencies’ reasonable study and review costs. Subject to annual appropriations Acts, the Commission must transfer the fees to those agencies for those studies, and the money remains available until spent.