Sec. 14. Coordination of Commission and other agencies issuing Federal authorizations
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Part I of the Federal Power Act ( 16 U.S.C. 792 et seq. ) (as amended by section 13) is amended by adding at the end the following: In this section: The term conditioning agency means a Federal agency (other than the Commission), a State agency, or an Indian Tribe that has the authority to issue a Federal authorization. The term Federal authorization means any authorization required under Federal law with respect to an application for a license, including any— license; condition of a license submitted by the applicable Secretary or an Indian Tribe under section 4(e)(2); prescription submitted by the applicable Secretary under section 18; permit; special use authorization; certification; opinion; consultation; determination; or other approval.
Not later than 90 days after the date on which an applicant submits to the Commission a notification of intent to apply for a license under this part, the Commission, after consultation with each conditioning agency, shall convene a technical conference, with a transcript to be taken by the Commission and submitted to the public record, to coordinate the respective efforts and schedules of the Commission and the conditioning agencies relating to studies and other information, consultations, environmental reviews, and decisionmaking.
To the extent reasonably practicable, the Commission and the applicable conditioning agencies shall establish, with respect to each project that is the subject of a notification of intent to apply for a license under this part— a joint schedule that will permit the timely completion of decisions required to be made with respect to, and timely issuance of, Federal authorizations by the Commission and the conditioning agencies; and a record supporting the basis for the respective decisions of the Commission and the conditioning agencies.
The Commission and the conditioning agencies shall consider waivers or modifications of the requirements of respective rules, within statutory limits, as appropriate— to establish a joint schedule for the proceeding; and to ensure timely decisionmaking. After the date on which the initial conference is convened under paragraph (1), the Commission shall convene subsequent technical conferences, as appropriate and after consultation with each conditioning agency, to address changed circumstances that may— allow for greater coordination of efforts and schedules; or threaten the ability of the Commission or any conditioning agency to maintain any joint schedule established under paragraph (2).
The Commission shall take a transcript of any technical conference convened under this paragraph, to be submitted to the public record. If the Commission and a conditioning agency are unable to establish or maintain a joint schedule under paragraph (2), the Commission and conditioning agency shall submit to the public record maintained by the Commission, not later than 30 days after the conclusion of the technical conference under paragraph
(1)or (3), as applicable, a statement that— identifies each inconsistency or conflict; explains the position taken by each agency causing the inconsistency or conflict; and provides an analysis, supported by information in the public record, of the factual basis for the inconsistent or conflicting position taken by each agency. As early as practicable after the date on which an applicant submits to the Commission a notification of intent to apply for a license under this part, the Commission, after consultation with each conditioning agency, shall convene a technical conference to address existing information and potential new studies relevant to the development of the record that would support agency decisionmaking. To the extent reasonably practicable, the Commission and the applicable conditioning agencies shall establish, with respect to each project that is the subject of a notification of intent to apply for a license under this part, a joint study plan. If 1 or more agencies are unable to establish or maintain a joint study plan, the applicable agencies shall submit to the public record maintained by the Commission, not later than 30 days after the conclusion of the technical conference under paragraph (1), a statement that— identifies each inconsistency or conflict; explains the position taken by each agency causing the inconsistency or conflict; and provides an analysis, supported by information in the public record, of the factual basis for the inconsistent or conflicting position taken by each agency. For any trial-type hearing conducted under section 4(e)(2) or 18, the Commission— may participate as a party for purposes of advocating the factual analyses of Commission staff relating to any disputed issue of material fact; and shall give due weight to the findings of fact resulting from the trial-type hearing in preparing any environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ). If a term or condition of a Federal authorization submitted or recommended for inclusion in a license under this part conflicts or is otherwise inconsistent with another such term or condition in a Federal authorization, the Commission shall initiate and facilitate consultation with the conditioning agencies submitting conflicting or inconsistent terms or conditions, to attempt to resolve the inconsistency or conflict. The consultation period under paragraph
(1)shall— be not longer than 90 days; and include at least 1 technical conference or similar meeting. If the agencies submitting terms or conditions of a Federal authorization resolve an inconsistency or conflict under this subsection, the agencies shall establish a reasonable schedule and deadline, not later than 90 days after the conclusion of the consultation, to amend and reissue the relevant Federal authorizations to reflect that resolution, as appropriate. If the agencies submitting terms or conditions of a Federal authorization are unable to resolve an inconsistency or conflict under this subsection, the agencies shall submit to the public record maintained by the Commission, not later than 30 days after the conclusion of the consultation, a statement that— identifies the inconsistency or conflict; and explains the reason for the inconsistency or conflict, supported by information in the public record. The Commission shall issue public notice of each technical conference between the Commission and a conditioning agency under this section. Each technical conference under this section shall be held open to participation by— the applicable license applicant; and other licensing participants. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Community and Hydropwer Improvement Act , after providing notice and an opportunity for public comment, the Commission shall promulgate regulations to implement the requirements of this section. .
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Sec. 14
Coordination of Commission and other agencies issuing Federal authorizations
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