Licensing and Permitting

Our staff is well versed in the site plan and submittal requirements for all agencies, allowing us to provide “one stop shopping” for most projects. Inherent in our permitting approach is our role as mediator and negotiator to assure projects meet the client’s purpose and need, while satisfying regulatory requirements. We advocate a proactive, cooperative approach to most permitting projects, involving jurisdictional agencies at the onset of the design and implementation stages.

Our excellent rapport with local, regional, and federal regulators allows for frank and decisive discussions and resolutions for our projects. This approach minimizes regulatory roadblocks by allowing for early input from regulators, proactive problem solving, and expedient issuance of permits.

We have experience of managing more than 100 projects through the complete Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing process. We know what is required by FERC and how to keep the licensing process moving – we served for 10 years as part of FERC’s environmental contractor team. Our team identifies any potential resource issues and develops realistic studies based upon a nexus to the project as necessary to acquire data or to develop appropriate protection, mitigation and enhancement measures.

By integrating planning, biological science, socioeconomic, and licensing skills, we provide a full suite of capabilities necessary for developing a workable relicensing strategy. This experience has proven successful in developing documents that meet FERC’s requirements and expectations, resulting in lower costs for our clients.

We have extensive experience in preparing environmental assessments and environmental impact statements under the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA for various lead and cooperating federal agencies (i.e., U.S. Forest Service, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, National Telecommunication and Information Agency, Federal Highway Administration, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), private clients, and project types.

Our scientists, engineers, and regulatory staff work with applicants, permittees, agencies, and project partners to assess a wide range of potential approaches, costs, and environmental effects to arrive at a preferred alternative or the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative.

We have managed more than 100 relicensing projects for hydropower owners throughout North America during the past 30 years and have the knowledge and expertise to assist licensees in meeting complex Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) compliance requirements. We provide different options for compliance management based on the level of assistance needed, the project specific complexities, the size of the project portfolio, and the kind of compliance requirements mandated by FERC and other agencies.