FERC Finalizes Hydropower Dam Safety Requirements

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently issued a final rule, Order No. 880, revising its hydropower project inspection and safety regulations. The updates revise part 12 of FERC's regulations and conclude an approximately year and a half of rulemaking in Docket No. RM20-9.

The revisions are intended to promote continued safe operation, maintenance, and repair of hydropower projects to ensure the protection of life, health, and property-one of the oldest areas of FERC regulation.

The new regulations provide increased certainty to hydropower developers and operators and, more importantly, address FERC's concerns about the potential dangers from inadequate operations and maintenance of hydropower projects, which FERC has made a priority over the last few years following certain high-visibility safety failures at FERC-jurisdictional hydroelectric facilities.