16 U.S.C. § 823c — Alaska State jurisdiction over small hydroelectric projects

(a) Despite sections 797(e) and 817, the Commission must stop licensing and regulating qualifying project works in Alaska when it certifies that Alaska has a water-power program that protects the public interest, the paragraph (2) purposes, and the environment to the same extent as Commission licensing and applicable federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. The program must give equal consideration to (A) energy conservation; (B) protecting, mitigating harm to, and enhancing fish and wildlife, including spawning grounds and habitat; (C) recreation; (D) other environmental quality; (E) Alaska Native interests; and (F) other beneficial public uses, including irrigation, flood control, water supply, and navigation. It must also require, as license conditions, (A) licensee-paid construction, maintenance, and operation of Coast Guard lights and signals and Interior or Commerce Department fishways; (B) Army rules controlling navigation facilities; and (C) except under subsection (j), fish-and-wildlife conditions based on recommendations from federal and State fish-and-wildlife agencies under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. (b) “Qualifying project works” means works that: (1) were not part of a project licensed or exempted before November 9, 2000; (2) had no preliminary permit, license application, or exemption application accepted by the Commission before that date, unless withdrawn by the applicant; (3) are part of a project with capacity of 5,000 kilowatts or less; (4) are entirely in Alaska; and (5) are not wholly or partly on an Indian reservation, conservation system unit (as defined in section 3102(4)), or river segment being studied for addition to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. (c) A licensee may choose Alaska licensing and regulation for a project that would qualify except that the Commission licensed or exempted it before November 9, 2000. (d) For a project wholly or partly on a reservation, conservation system unit, or public lands, the State license or exemption needs approval from the Secretary with jurisdiction over the land and is subject to that Secretary’s conditions. (e) Before certifying Alaska’s program, the Commission must consult the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce. (f) This section does not preempt federal environmental, natural-resource, or cultural-resource protection laws. (g) Alaska must notify the Commission within 30 days after a significant program change. The Commission must periodically review the program for compliance. (h) The Commission must resume its authority if it finds Alaska has failed to meet one or more requirements of this section. (i)(1) On the Governor’s application, the Commission must begin within 30 days a review of Alaska’s program. (2) The review must finish within one year, and within 30 days afterward the Commission must issue a final order deciding compliance. (3) If it does not issue the order as required, Alaska’s program is treated as complying with subsection (a). (j) If Alaska finds a subsection (a)(3)(C) recommendation inconsistent with subsection (a)(1) or (2), it may decline all or part of the recommendation under section 803(j)(2).