Commissioner James Danly Statement
April 15, 2021
Project Nos. 10809-052, 10810-058 & 2785-104


I concur in the $15 million penalty assessment against Boyce Hydro Power, LLC (Boyce), pursuant to section 31(c) of the Federal Power Act (FPA),[1] for the violations of Standard Article 4 of the Boyce projects’ licenses[2] and section 12.4(b) of the Commission’s regulations[3] for the licensee’s non-compliance with Commission directives issued following the failure of the Sanford Dam and the non-jurisdictional Edenville Dam.   

I write separately to underscore two points: first, while I agree with the imposition of this penalty, I also strongly support the Commission’s determination that these civil penalties shall not displace any direct recovery of damages by victims of the dam breaches and flooding in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.[4]  Victim recovery should be the first priority.

Second, I also strongly support strengthening financial assurance measures to ensure dam safety and compliance to prevent exactly this type of incident.  This is the subject of a still-pending Commission Notice of Inquiry issued at the January Commission meeting in my final days as the preceding Chairman of this Commission.[5]  It is critical that each licensed hydro project have sufficient financial assurance to carry out its license requirements and, particularly, maintain projects in safe condition.

For these reasons, I respectfully concur.

 

[1] 16 U.S.C. § 823b(c).

[2] Boyce is the licensee for the Secord (Project No. 10809), Smallwood (Project No. 10810), and Sanford (Project No. 2785) Hydroelectric Projects.

[3] 18 C.F.R. § 12.4(b) (2020).

[4] See Boyce Hydro Power, LLC, 175 FERC ¶ 61,049, at PP 59, 61 (2021).

[5] See Financial Assurance Measures for Hydroelectric Projects, 174 FERC ¶ 61,039 (2021).

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This page was last updated on April 16, 2021