Political Quotes

“this amendment deals with hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power is our largest renewable energy source. Ninety-five percent of our renewable energy in the United States is hydroelectric power. That source of renewable energy is threatened by the 1994 Supreme Court ruling which the gentleman from Texas mentioned, and it has placed this energy resource in jeopardy. The Supreme Court ruling known as the Tacoma decision expands the role of the State water quality agency beyond traditional water quality issues by permitting these agencies to regulate operations of a hydro project, a power previously under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Federal natural resource agencies. Hydropower today provides 12 percent of our Nation's electricity, and I call your attention to the fact that hydropower emits no greenhouse gases or pollutants. It does not produce any toxic waste. It is completely renewable through annual rainfall and snow melt, and it is domestically produced, which is critical to national security. In the next decade a large portion of the Nation's hydroelectric projects will come up for relicensing before FERC. In my home State of Alabama, 70 percent of the hydroelectric projects must be relicensed in the next 10 years. Unfortunately, as these vital projects come up for relicensing, they are threatened by the Tacoma decision.”