Legal Obstacles and Incentives to the Third Development of Small-Scale Hydroelectric Potential in the Six New England States: Executive Summary

摘要

This executive summary describes the relationship of Federal law and regulation to state law and regulation of small-scale hydroelectric facilities. It also highlights important features of the constitutional law, statutory law, case law, and regulations of each of the six New England states. The summary may serve as a concise overview of and introduction to the detailed reports prepared by the Energy Law Institute on the legal and regulatory systems of each of the six states. The dual regulatory system is a function of the federalist nature of our government. This dual system is examined from the standpoint of the appropriate legal doctrine, i.e., the law of pre-emption, and the application of this law to the case of hydroelectric development. The regulation of small dams are discussed and flow diagrams of the regulations are presented for each of the six states - Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut. (ERA citation 05:036208)