Waterkeepers Chesapeake v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license for the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River in Maryland, finding that FERC had exceeded its authority under section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act, which permits FERC to issue a license only if the state certifies that the dam will comply with water quality standards or waives its authority to make this certification. Maryland initially granted a certification but then attempted to withdraw it and waive its authority. The court did not address arguments under NEPA that FERC was required to supplement its environmental analysis to consider new information on dredging and climate change. The petitioners had contended that the new information received after FERC issued its environmental impact statement (EIS) in 2015 showed that sediment pollution would be far worse than acknowledged in the EIS.