16 U.S.C. § 797 : US Code - Section 797: General powers of Commission

Search 16 U.S.C. § 797 : US Code - Section 797: General powers of Commission

The Commission is authorized and empowered -
(a) Investigations and data
To make investigations and to collect and record data concerning
the utilization of the water resources of any region to be
developed, the water-power industry and its relation to other
industries and to interstate or foreign commerce, and concerning
the location, capacity, development costs, and relation to markets
of power sites, and whether the power from Government dams can be
advantageously used by the United States for its public purposes,
and what is a fair value of such power, to the extent the
Commission may deem necessary or useful for the purposes of this
chapter.
(b) Statements as to investment of licenses in projects; access to
projects, maps, etc.
To determine the actual legitimate original cost of and the net
investment in a licensed project, and to aid the Commission in such
determinations, each licensee shall, upon oath, within a reasonable
period of time to be fixed by the Commission, after the
construction of the original project or any addition thereto or
betterment thereof, file with the Commission in such detail as the
Commission may require, a statement in duplicate showing the actual
legitimate original cost of construction of such project addition,
or betterment, and of the price paid for water rights, rights-of-
way, lands, or interest in lands. The licensee shall grant to the
Commission or to its duly authorized agent or agents, at all
reasonable times, free access to such project, addition, or
betterment, and to all maps, profiles, contracts, reports of
engineers, accounts, books, records, and all other papers and
documents relating thereto. The statement of actual legitimate
original cost of said project, and revisions thereof as determined
by the Commission, shall be filed with the Secretary of the
Treasury.
(c) Cooperation with executive departments; information and aid
furnished Commission
To cooperate with the executive departments and other agencies of
State or National Governments in such investigations; and for such
purpose the several departments and agencies of the National
Government are authorized and directed upon the request of the
Commission, to furnish such records, papers, and information in
their possession as may be requested by the Commission, and
temporarily to detail to the Commission such officers or experts as
may be necessary in such investigations.
(d) Publication of information, etc.; reports to Congress
To make public from time to time the information secured
hereunder, and to provide for the publication of its reports and
investigations in such form and manner as may be best adapted for
public information and use. The Commission, on or before the 3d day
of January of each year, shall submit to Congress for the fiscal
year preceding a classified report showing the permits and licenses
issued under this subchapter, and in each case the parties thereto,
the terms prescribed, and the moneys received if any, or account
thereof.
(e) Issue of licenses for construction, etc., of dams, conduits,
reservoirs, etc.
To issue licenses to citizens of the United States, or to any
association of such citizens, or to any corporation organized under
the laws of the United States or any State thereof, or to any State
or municipality for the purpose of constructing, operating, and
maintaining dams, water conduits, reservoirs, power houses,
transmission lines, or other project works necessary or convenient
for the development and improvement of navigation and for the
development, transmission, and utilization of power across, along,
from, or in any of the streams or other bodies of water over which
Congress has jurisdiction under its authority to regulate commerce
with foreign nations and among the several States, or upon any part
of the public lands and reservations of the United States
(including the Territories), or for the purpose of utilizing the
surplus water or water power from any Government dam, except as
herein provided: Provided, That licenses shall be issued within any
reservation only after a finding by the Commission that the license
will not interfere or be inconsistent with the purpose for which
such reservation was created or acquired, and shall be subject to
and contain such conditions as the Secretary of the department
under whose supervision such reservation falls shall deem necessary
for the adequate protection and utilization of such reservation:
(!1) The license applicant and any party to the proceeding shall be
entitled to a determination on the record, after opportunity for an
agency trial-type hearing of no more than 90 days, on any disputed
issues of material fact with respect to such conditions. All
disputed issues of material fact raised by any party shall be
determined in a single trial-type hearing to be conducted by the
relevant resource agency in accordance with the regulations
promulgated under this subsection and within the time frame
established by the Commission for each license proceeding. Within
90 days of August 8, 2005, the Secretaries of the Interior,
Commerce, and Agriculture shall establish jointly, by rule, the
procedures for such expedited trial-type hearing, including the
opportunity to undertake discovery and cross-examine witnesses, in
consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.(!2)
Provided further, That no license affecting the navigable capacity
of any navigable waters of the United States shall be issued until
the plans of the dam or other structures affecting the navigation
have been approved by the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of
the Army. Whenever the contemplated improvement is, in the judgment
of the Commission, desirable and justified in the public interest
for the purpose of improving or developing a waterway or waterways
for the use or benefit of interstate or foreign commerce, a finding
to that effect shall be made by the Commission and shall become a
part of the records of the Commission: Provided further, That in
case the Commission shall find that any Government dam may be
advantageously used by the United States for public purposes in
addition to navigation, no license therefor shall be issued until
two years after it shall have reported to Congress the facts and
conditions relating thereto, except that this provision shall not
apply to any Government dam constructed prior to June 10, 1920: And
provided further, That upon the filing of any application for a
license which has not been preceded by a preliminary permit under
subsection (f) of this section, notice shall be given and published
as required by the proviso of said subsection. In deciding whether
to issue any license under this subchapter for any project, the
Commission, in addition to the power and development purposes for
which licenses are issued, shall give equal consideration to the
purposes of energy conservation, the protection, mitigation of
damage to, and enhancement of, fish and wildlife (including related
spawning grounds and habitat), the protection of recreational
opportunities, and the preservation of other aspects of
environmental quality.
(f) Preliminary permits; notice of application
To issue preliminary permits for the purpose of enabling
applicants for a license hereunder to secure the data and to
perform the acts required by section 802 of this title: Provided,
however, That upon the filing of any application for a preliminary
permit by any person, association, or corporation the Commission,
before granting such application, shall at once give notice of such
application in writing to any State or municipality likely to be
interested in or affected by such application; and shall also
publish notice of such application once each week for four weeks in
a daily or weekly newspaper published in the county or counties in
which the project or any part hereof or the lands affected thereby
are situated.
(g) Investigation of occupancy for developing power; orders
Upon its own motion to order an investigation of any occupancy
of, or evidenced intention to occupy, for the purpose of developing
electric power, public lands, reservations, or streams or other
bodies of water over which Congress has jurisdiction under its
authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the
several States by any person, corporation, State, or municipality
and to issue such order as it may find appropriate, expedient, and
in the public interest to conserve and utilize the navigation and
water-power resources of the region.