Troubled Water: Building a Bridge to Clean Energy through Small Hydropower Regulatory Reform

It is beyond credible dispute that the planet is heating up at an alarming rate and that the ecological effects of global warming pose real questions about the continued viability of human and non-human life on earth in the not-too-distant future. A primary cause of global warming is the burning of carbon-based fuels to generate electricity. Clearly, more must be done, and done soon, to stave off the worst impacts of global warming. Drastically reducing global carbon emissions features prominently in any serious proposal to combat global warming. However, given that humans are extremely unlikely to willingly give up the massive recreational, economic, health, and quality-of-life benefits that come from having access to plentiful, cheap, and reliable electricity, any reductions in carbon-generated electricity will likely have to be made up for by massive increases in non-carbon-based means of generation, such as wind, solar, and hydroelectricity. Aside from nuclear power, hydropower is the most heavily regulated electricity generating source in the U.S. The current regulations governing small hydropower discourage investment and unnecessarily burden developers by requiring them to navigate a costly, complex, and time-consuming regulatory framework that may be appropriate for large dams given the environmental and ecological damage such dams can cause, but are regulatory overkill for the comparatively small impacts from a small hydro project. With low-impact small hydropower technologies offering a politically-promising approach to utilizing untapped hydropower potential in America, while also allowing fisheries to thrive and rivers to run free, this regulatory scheme is ripe for reform. The article offers targeted suggestions for reform to the federal oversight of small hydropower licensing, with a particular focus on making a regulatory distinction between low-impact and more physically-intrusive methods of hydropower generation and streamlining and expediting the approval process for low impact small hydropower projects.