Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a new 30-year license for the Nantahala Hydroelectric Project in Western North Carolina. The new license confirms many elements of a 2003 collaborative settlement agreement developed by Duke Energy, American Whitewater, state and federal resource agencies, and many other stakeholders. Included in the new license are flow releases that treat over 250,000 people each year to whitewater paddling on the Nantahala River.
We are pleased to announce that Duke Energy recently received their new state water quality certificates for their dams on the Tuckasegee and Nantahala rivers. These certificates were the final remaining documents that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission needs to issue new federal licenses for the dams. The dams are expected to be licensed before the end of 2010.