16 U.S.C. § 823g — Considerations for relicensing terms

(a) When setting the term of a new license after an existing license expires, the Commission must consider, among other things, the licensee’s project investments under the new license and during the existing license. (b) It must give equal weight to: (1) investments to carry out the new license, including redevelopment, construction, capacity, efficiency, modernization, major-equipment rehabilitation or replacement, safety, and environmental, recreation, or other protection, mitigation, or enhancement measures; and (2) investments during the existing license, including annual licenses, that produced those kinds of improvements and were not expressly considered by the Commission as contributing to the existing term. (c) At the licensee’s request, the Commission must decide within 60 days whether a planned, ongoing, or completed investment meets subsection (b)(2). It may not decide how many years the investment might add; that assessment happens only under subsection (a).