16 Usc 817

§ 815

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

after October 24, 1992, no licensee may use the
right of eminent domain under this section to
acquire such lands or property unless there has
been a public hearing held in the affected community and a finding by the Commission, after
due consideration of expressed public views and
the recommendations of the State or political
subdivision that owns the lands or property,
that the license will not interfere or be inconsistent with the purposes for which such lands
or property are owned.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. I, § 21, 41 Stat. 1074; renumbered pt. I, Aug. 26, 1935, ch. 687, title II,
§ 212, 49 Stat. 847; Pub. L. 102–486, title XVII,
§ 1701(d), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3009.)
AMENDMENTS
1992—Pub. L. 102–486 substituted final proviso and
sentence for period at end.

§ 815. Contract to furnish power extending beyond period of license; obligations of new licensee
Whenever the public interest requires or justifies the execution by the licensee of contracts
for the sale and delivery of power for periods extending beyond the date of termination of the license, such contracts may be entered into upon
the joint approval of the commission and of the
public-service commission or other similar authority in the State in which the sale or delivery of power is made, or if sold or delivered in
a State which has no such public-service commission, then upon the approval of the commission, and thereafter, in the event of failure to
issue a new license to the original licensee at
the termination of the license, the United
States or the new licensee, as the case may be,
shall assume and fulfill all such contracts.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. I, § 22, 41 Stat. 1074; renumbered pt. I, Aug. 26, 1935, ch. 687, title II,
§ 212, 49 Stat. 847.)
§ 816. Preservation of rights vested prior to June
10, 1920
The provisions of this subchapter shall not be
construed as affecting any permit or valid existing right-of-way granted prior to June 10, 1920,
or as confirming or otherwise affecting any
claim, or as affecting any authority heretofore
given pursuant to law, but any person, association, corporation, State, or municipality holding or possessing such permit, right-of-way or
authority may apply for a license under this
chapter, and upon such application the Commission may issue to any such applicant a license in
accordance with the provisions of this subchapter and in such case the provisions of this
chapter shall apply to such applicant as a licensee under this chapter: Provided, That when
application is made for a license under this section for a project or projects already constructed the fair value of said project or projects
determined as provided in this section, shall for
the purposes of this subchapter and of said license be deemed to be the amount to be allowed
as the net investment of the applicant in such
project or projects as of the date of such license,
or as of the date of such determination, if license has not been issued. Such fair value shall

Page 1256

be determined by the Commission after notice
and opportunity for hearing.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. I, § 23(a), 41 Stat. 1075;
renumbered pt. I and amended, Aug. 26, 1935, ch.
687, title II, §§ 210, 212, 49 Stat. 846, 847.)
CODIFICATION
Section consists of subsec. (a) of section 23 of act
June 10, 1920, as so designated by act Aug. 26, 1935. Subsec. (b) of section 23 of act June 10, 1920, is set out as
section 817 of this title.
AMENDMENTS
1935—Act Aug. 26, 1935, § 210, amended section generally, substituting ‘‘part’’ for ‘‘chapter’’ wherever appearing, substituting ‘‘heretofore’’ for ‘‘then’’, and substituting the last sentence for ‘‘Such fair value may, in
the discretion of the commission, be determined by mutual agreement between the commission and the applicant or, in case they cannot agree, jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the district court of the United
States in the district within which such project or
projects may be located, upon the application of either
party, to hear and determine the amount of such fair
value.’’

§ 817. Projects not affecting navigable waters; necessity for Federal license, permit or right-ofway; unauthorized activities
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person, State,
or municipality, for the purpose of developing
electric power, to construct, operate, or maintain any dam, water conduit, reservoir, power
house, or other works incidental thereto across,
along, or in any of the navigable waters of the
United States, or upon any part of the public
lands or reservations of the United States (including the Territories), or utilize the surplus
water or water power from any Government
dam, except under and in accordance with the
terms of a permit or valid existing right-of-way
granted prior to June 10, 1920, or a license granted pursuant to this chapter. Any person, association, corporation, State, or municipality intending to construct a dam or other project
works, across, along, over, or in any stream or
part thereof, other than those defined in this
chapter as navigable waters, and over which
Congress has jurisdiction under its authority to
regulate commerce with foreign nations and
among the several States shall before such construction file declaration of such intention with
the Commission, whereupon the Commission
shall cause immediate investigation of such proposed construction to be made, and if upon investigation it shall find that the interests of
interstate or foreign commerce would be affected by such proposed construction, such person, association, corporation, State, or municipality shall not construct, maintain, or operate
such dam or other project works until it shall
have applied for and shall have received a license under the provisions of this chapter. If the
Commission shall not so find, and if no public
lands or reservations are affected, permission is
granted to construct such dam or other project
works in such stream upon compliance with
State laws.
(2) No person may commence any significant
modification of any project licensed under, or
exempted from, this chapter unless such modification is authorized in accordance with terms

Page 1257

§ 820

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

and conditions of such license or exemption and
the applicable requirements of this subchapter.
As used in this paragraph, the term ‘‘commence’’ refers to the beginning of physical onsite activity other than surveys or testing.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. I, § 23(b), 41 Stat. 1075;
renumbered pt. I and amended, Aug. 26, 1935, ch.
687, title II, §§ 210, 212, 49 Stat. 846, 847; Pub. L.
99–495, § 6, Oct. 16, 1986, 100 Stat. 1248.)
CODIFICATION
Section consists of subsec. (b) of section 23 of act
June 10, 1920, as so designated by act Aug. 26, 1935. Subsec. (a) of section 23 of act June 10, 1920, is set out as
section 816 of this title.
AMENDMENTS
1986—Pub. L. 99–495 designated existing provisions as
par. (1) and added par. (2).
1935—Act Aug. 26, 1935, § 210, amended section generally, inserting first sentence, and substituting ‘‘with
foreign nations’’ for ‘‘between foreign nations’’, ‘‘shall
before such construction’’ for ‘‘may in their discretion’’
and ‘‘shall not construct, maintain, or operate such
dam or other project works’’ for ‘‘shall not proceed
with such construction’’.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1986 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 99–495 applicable to licenses,
permits, and exemptions without regard to when issued, see section 18 of Pub. L. 99–495, set out as a note
under section 797 of this title.

§ 818. Public lands included in project; reservation of lands from entry
Any lands of the United States included in any
proposed project under the provisions of this
subchapter shall from the date of filing of application therefor be reserved from entry, location,
or other disposal under the laws of the United
States until otherwise directed by the Commission or by Congress. Notice that such application has been made, together with the date of
filing thereof and a description of the lands of
the United States affected thereby, shall be filed
in the local land office for the district in which
such lands are located. Whenever the Commission shall determine that the value of any lands
of the United States so applied for, or heretofore
or hereafter reserved or classified as power sites,
will not be injured or destroyed for the purposes
of power development by location, entry, or selection under the public-land laws, the Secretary of the Interior, upon notice of such determination, shall declare such lands open to location, entry, or selection, for such purpose or purposes and under such restrictions as the Commission may determine, subject to and with a
reservation of the right of the United States or
its permittees or licensees to enter upon, occupy, and use any part or all of said lands necessary, in the judgment of the Commission, for
the purposes of this subchapter, which right
shall be expressly reserved in every patent issued for such lands; and no claim or right to
compensation shall accrue from the occupation
or use of any of said lands for said purposes. The
United States or any licensee for any such lands
hereunder may enter thereupon for the purposes
of this subchapter, upon payment of any damages to crops, buildings, or other improvements
caused thereby to the owner thereof, or upon

giving a good and sufficient bond to the United
States for the use and benefit of the owner to secure the payment of such damages as may be determined and fixed in an action brought upon
the bond in a court of competent jurisdiction,
said bond to be in the form prescribed by the
Commission: Provided, That locations, entries,
selections, or filings heretofore made for lands
reserved as water-power sites, or in connection
with water-power development, or electrical
transmission may proceed to approval or patent
under and subject to the limitations and conditions in this section contained: Provided further,
That before any lands applied for, or heretofore
or hereafter reserved, or classified as power
sites, are declared open to location, entry, or selection by the Secretary of the Interior, notice
of intention to make such declaration shall be
given to the Governor of the State within which
such lands are located, and such State shall
have ninety days from the date of such notice
within which to file, under any statute or regulation applicable thereto, an application for the
reservation to the State, or any political subdivision thereof, of any lands required as a
right-of-way for a public highway or as a source
of materials for the construction and maintenance of such highways, and a copy of such application shall be filed with the Federal Power
Commission; and any location, entry, or selection of such lands, or subsequent patent thereof,
shall be subject to any rights granted the State
pursuant to such application.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. I, § 24, 41 Stat. 1075; renumbered pt. I and amended, Aug. 26, 1935, ch.
687, title II, §§ 211, 212, 49 Stat. 846, 847; May 28,
1948, ch. 351, 62 Stat. 275.)
AMENDMENTS
1948—Act May 28, 1948, inserted second proviso in last
sentence so that States may apply for reservations of
portions of power sites released for entry, location, or
selection to the States for highway purposes.
1935—Act Aug. 26, 1935, § 211, amended section generally, inserting ‘‘for such purpose or purposes and under
such restrictions as the commission may determine’’,
substituted ‘‘part’’ for ‘‘chapter’’ wherever appearing,
and striking out from proviso ‘‘prior to June 10, 1920’’
after ‘‘made’’.

§ 819. Repealed. Aug. 26, 1935, ch. 687, title II,
§ 212, 49 Stat. 847
Section, act June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. I, § 25, 41 Stat.
1076, related to offenses and punishment. See section
825m et seq. of this title.

§ 820. Proceedings for revocation of license or to
prevent violations of license
The Attorney General may, on request of the
commission or of the Secretary of the Army, institute proceedings in equity in the district
court of the United States in the district in
which any project or part thereof is situated for
the purpose of revoking for violation of its
terms any permit or license issued hereunder, or
for the purpose of remedying or correcting by
injunction, mandamus, or other process any act
of commission or omission in violation of the
provisions of this chapter or of any lawful regulation or order promulgated hereunder. The district courts shall have jurisdiction over all of