Umpqua Valley Audubon Society v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

MEMORANDUM *

This petition collaterally challenges the decision of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a relicensing order for the North Umpqua Hydropower Project. Umpqua Valley Audubon Society and other environmental groups (collectively “the Society”) challenge: (1) the Forest Service’s decision no longer to issue a Record of Decision for conditions it provides pursuant to Federal Power Act § 4(e) (“4(e) conditions”), 1 (2) the Service’s failure to prepare an environmental impact statement (“EIS”), and (3) the Service’s 4(e) conditions submitted to FERC for inclusion in the license. We have jurisdiction under 16 U.S.C. § 825l(b) over all these claims, and we affirm.

As an initial matter, we have jurisdiction under the Federal Power Act to resolve the Society’s challenges under the Administrative Procedure Act 2 to the Service’s decision no longer to issue a Record of Decision for its 4(e) conditions. 3 We have previously held that challenges based on 4(e) conditions are a permissible collateral attack on a FERC licensing order. 4 Although the Society’s challenge is one step removed from being a challenge to the 4(e) conditions themselves, the challenge is still…