In addition, environmental and land management laws—enacted primarily during the 1960s and 1970s—require other participating federal and state agencies to address specific resource needs, including protecting endangered species, achieving clean water, and preserving wild and scenic rivers. Participants Cannot Agree on the Need for, and Type of, Reforms to the Licensing Process

FERC, federal and state land and resource agencies, licensees, environmental groups, and other participants in the licensing process do not agree on whether further reforms are needed to reduce process- related time and costs. However, without complete and accurate time and cost data and the ability to link time and costs to projects, processes, and outcomes, FERC cannot assess the extent to which the observations and suggestions—or any recommended administrative reforms or legislative changes—might shorten the process or make it less costly. FERC also cannot identify other federal agencies’ actual costs to participate in the licensing process. As agreed, this report discusses (1) why the licensing process now takes longer and costs more than it did when FERC issued most original licenses several decades ago; (2) whether participants in the licensing process agree on the need for, and type of, further reforms to the process to reduce time and costs; and (3) whether available time and cost data are sufficient to reach informed decisions on the effectiveness of recent reforms and the need for further reforms to the process.
Why GAO Did This Study

This report assesses the licensing process of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Specifically, GAO examines (1) why the licensing process now takes longer and costs more than it did when FERC issued most original licenses several decades ago; (2) whether participants in the licensing process agree on the need for, and type of, further reforms to reduce time and costs; and (3) whether available time and cost data are sufficient to allow informed decisions on the effectiveness of recent reforms and the need for further reforms.

What GAO Found

GAO found that since 1986, FERC has been required to give "equal consideration" to, and make tradeoffs among, hydropower generation and other competing resource needs. Additional environmental and land management laws have also placed additional requirements on other federal and state agencies participating in the licensing process to address specific resource needs. GAO found no agreement between FERC, federal and state land resource agencies, licensees, environmental groups, and other participants in the licensing process on the need for further reforms to reduce process-related time and costs. Finally, available time and cost data are insufficient to allow informed decisions on the effectiveness of recent reforms. Without complete and accurate time and cost data and the ability to link time and costs to projects, processes, and outcomes, FERC cannot assess the extent to which the observations and suggestions--or any recommended administrative reforms or legislative changes--might reduce the process' length and costs.