174 FERC ¶ 61,217 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION Before Commissioners: Richard Glick, Chairman; Neil Chatterjee, James P. Danly, Allison Clements, and Mark C. Christie. Exelon Generation Company, LLC Project Nos. 405-106 405-121 ORDER ISSUING NEW LICENSE (Issued March 19, 2021) INTRODUCTION 1. On August 31, 2012, Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) filed, pursuant to sections 4(e) and 15 of the Federal Power Act (FPA),1 an application for a new license to continue operation and maintenance of the Conowingo Hydroelectric Project No. 405 (Conowingo Project or project). The 570.15-megawatt (MW) project2 is located on the Susquehanna River at river mile (RM) 10 in Lancaster and York Counties, Pennsylvania, and Cecil and Harford Counties, Maryland.3 The project does not occupy federal land. 2. As discussed below, this order issues a new license for the project. 1 16 U.S.C. §§ 797(e) and 808. 2 On March 2, 2010, Commission staff approved Exelon’s revised Exhibit M, increasing the authorized capacity for the license from 514.4 MW to 574.54 MW to reflect the end-of-life replacement of seven turbine-generators units. Exelon Generating Co., LLC, 130 FERC ¶ 62,175 (2010). However, that order included an error and misstated the authorized capacity. The authorized capacity specified in this order, 570.15 MW, corrects that error. 3 The Susquehanna River is a navigable waterway of the United States. See Metropolitan Edison Co., 2 F.P.C. 703 (1940). Therefore, section 23(b) of the FPA, 16 U.S.C. § 817(1), requires the project to be licensed. Project Nos. 405-106 and 405-121 - 2 - BACKGROUND 3. The Federal Power Commission, the Commission’s predecessor, issued the original license for the Conowingo Project on February 20, 1926, for a 50 year period terminating February 19, 1976.4 The Commission issued the current license for the project on August 14, 1980, for a period ending August 31, 2014.5 Since then, Exelon has operated the project under an annual license pending the disposition of its new license application. 4. On April 29, 2013, the Commission issued a public notice accepting for filing Exelon’s relicense application, indicating the application was ready for environmental analysis, and setting June 28, 2013, later extended to January 31, 2014, as the deadline for filing motions to intervene, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions.6 5. The U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior); Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC); Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (Pennsylvania DEP); Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (Pennsylvania FBC); National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (Maryland DNR) and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) (jointly) filed notices of intervention.7 Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna, Inc.; PPL Holtwood, LLC; Safe Harbor Water Power Corporation; Clean Chesapeake 4 Susquehanna Power Co., 6th FPC Ann. Rep. 117 (1926). 5 Susquehanna Power Co., 19 FERC ¶ 61,348 (1982), order on reh’g, 13 FERC ¶ 61,132 (1980) (Due to an oversight, the 1980 Order Issuing New Major License for the Conowingo Project was published after the order on rehearing). The Commission approved the transfer of the project license to Exelon on November 24, 2008. Susquehanna Power Co., 125 FERC ¶ 62,181 (2008). 6 78 Fed. Reg. 26,339 (May 6, 2013). See also Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Notice Granting Extension of Time and Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (Aug. 30, 2013); Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Notice Granting Extension of Time (Dec. 13, 2013). 7 Under Rule 214(a) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, Interior, SRBC, Pennsylvania DEP, Pennsylvania FBC, NMFS, Maryland DNR, and MDE became parties to the proceeding upon timely filing of their notices of intervention. 18 C.F.R. § 385.214(a) (2020). Project Nos. 405-106 and 405-121 - 3 - Coalition (Coalition);8 Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna, Inc., Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper and Waterkeepers Chesapeake (jointly); Calpine Corporation; Chesapeake Conservancy; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Mason-Dixon Trail System, Inc; Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future; Cecil Land Use Association; Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, Inc.; Chester River Association and Sassafras River Association (jointly); Onondaga Nation; New Energy Capital Partners, LLC (New Energy); Olympus Power Company, LLC; The Nature Conservancy; American Rivers; and Susquehanna River Boaters Association filed timely motions to intervene.9 6. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); NMFS; Interior; SRBC; Maryland DNR and MDE (jointly); Pennsylvania FBC; Harford County Government; Cecil County Government; City of Havre de Grace, Maryland; Town of Port Deposit, Maryland; Town of Perryville, Maryland; Coalition; American Rivers; The Nature Conservancy; Chesapeake Conservancy; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, Inc.; Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna, Inc.; Lancaster County Conservancy; Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy; Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future; New Energy; Henry Immanuel; and Vicki Rinkerman filed comments, terms and conditions, recommendations, and/or prescriptions. No intervenor opposes relicensing the project. 7. On July 30, 2014, Commission staff issued a draft multi-project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that analyzed the proposed project’s impacts and alternatives to it.10 Comments on the draft EIS related to the Conowingo Project were filed by: Interior; NMFS; EPA; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); Susquehanna River Anadromous Fish Restoration Cooperative;11 SRBC; Onondaga Nation; the State of Maryland; 8 The original Coalition included representatives of seven Maryland counties: Allegany, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, and Kent Counties. The Coalition filed supplements on March 28, August 6, and September 14, 2014, noting the addition of representatives from Wicomico, Harford, and Queen Anne’s Counties to its coalition. 9 Timely, unopposed motions to intervene are granted by operation of Rule 214(c) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. 18 C.F.R. § 385.214(c). Motions to intervene filed after an application has been filed, but before notice has been issued, are considered timely. 10 The EIS also considered the impacts of the York Haven Project and the Muddy Run Project, located nearby on the lower Susquehanna River, both of which were then in the relicensing process and have since been issued new licenses. 11 The Susquehanna River Anadromous Fish Restoration Cooperative consists of representatives from FWS, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Pennsylvania Fish Project Nos. 405-106 and 405-121 - 4 - Pennsylvania FBC; Coalition; Maryland Farm Bureau; Exelon; York Haven Power Company; The Nature Conservancy; American Rivers; Susquehanna River Boaters Association; the Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin; Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (jointly); Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna, Inc., Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, and Waterkeepers Chesapeake (jointly); Broad Creek Civic Association; New Energy; James Byrne; Matt Teffeau; Dr. Amy Roe; Hugh Rogers; and Patrick Kelly. 8. Commission staff issued a final EIS on March 11, 2015. Comments on the final EIS were filed by EPA; NMFS; The Nature Conservancy;12 Interior; Coalition; SRBC; and York Haven Power Company, LLC. 9. On May 12, 2016, Exelon filed a settlement agreement entered into by itself and Interior that resolves outstanding issues between Exelon and Interior regarding the terms of Interior’s FPA section 18 prescription. The Nature Conservancy filed timely comments generally supporting the settlement. Additionally, Stewards of the Susquehanna River, Inc., Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, and Waterkeepers Chesapeake jointly filed comments on the agreement. On June 13, 2016, Exelon filed timely reply comments. 10. On October 29, 2019, Exelon filed an additional settlement agreement that resolves outstanding issues between Exelon and MDE associated with MDE’s issuance of a water quality certification (MDE Settlement). On October 30, 2019, the Commission issued public notice of the settlement agreement, setting a deadline of November 19, 2019, later extended to January 17, 2020, for comments, and of December 2, 2019, later extended to January 31, 2020, for reply comments.13 The SRBC, Pennsylvania DEP, Pennsylvania FBC, Interior, and David Home filed comments supporting the MDE Settlement. Individuals, the Coalition, and some non-governmental organizations filed comments opposing it. Exelon and MDE each filed timely reply comments. and Boat Commission, Maryland DNR, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 12 On October 29, 2019, The Nature Conservancy filed additional comments that included as attachments, Maryland’s Final 2018 Integrated Report; EPA’s April 9, 2019 approval letter of the Integrated Report; and the Final EPA-USGS Technical Report. On November 8, 2019, Exelon filed reply comments to The Nature Conservancy’s comments. 13 84 Fed. Reg. 59,801 (Nov. 6, 2019); Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Notice Extending Comment Period (Nov. 13, 2019). Project Nos. 405-106 and 405-121 - 5 - 11. The interventions, comments, and recommendations have been fully considered in determining whether, and under what conditions, to issue this license. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Project Area 12. The Susquehanna River, the largest tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, is