16 USC 824b

Page 1331

(2) after consultation with the Secretary of
the Interior and the heads of other affected
Federal agencies, that the Secretary of the Interior and the heads of such,1 other agencies
concur in writing in the location of such portion of the transmission facilities as crosses
Federal land under the jurisdiction of such
Secretary or such other Federal agency, as the
case may be.
The Secretary shall provide to any State such
cooperation and technical assistance as the
State may request and as he determines appropriate in the selection of a transmission route.
If the transmission route approved by any State
does not appear to be feasible and in the public
interest, the Secretary shall encourage such
State to review such route and to develop a
route that is feasible and in the public interest.
Any exercise by the Secretary of the power of
eminent domain under this section shall be in
accordance with other applicable provisions of
Federal law. The Secretary shall provide public
notice of his intention to acquire any right-ofway before exercising such power of eminent domain with respect to such right-of-way.
(b) Permit
Notwithstanding any transfer of functions
under the first sentence of section 301(b) of the
Department of Energy Organization Act [42
U.S.C. 7151(b)], no permit referred to in subsection (a)(1)(B) may be issued unless the Commission has conducted hearings and made the
findings required under section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act [16 U.S.C. 824a(e)] and under the
applicable execution order respecting the construction, operation, maintenance, or connection at the borders of the United States of facilities for the transmission of electric energy between the United States and a foreign country.
Any finding of the Commission under an applicable executive order referred to in this subsection shall be treated for purposes of judicial
review as an order issued under section 202(e) of
the Federal Power Act.
(c) Timely acquisition by other means
The Secretary may not acquire any rights-ofday 2 under this section unless he determines
that the holder or holders of a permit referred to
in subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section are unable
to acquire such rights-of-way under State condemnation authority, or after reasonable opportunity for negotiation, without unreasonably delaying construction, taking into consideration
the impact of such delay on completion of the
facilities in a timely fashion.
(d) Payments by permittees
(1) The property interest acquired by the Secretary under this section (whether by eminent
domain or other purchase) shall be transferred
by the Secretary to the holder of a permit referred to in subsection (b) of this section if such
holder has made payment to the Secretary of
the entire costs of the acquisition of such property interest, including administrative costs.
The Secretary may accept, and expend, for purposes of such acquisition, amounts from any
1 So
2 So

§ 824b

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

in original. The comma probably should not appear.
in original. Probably should be ‘‘rights-of-way’’.

such person before acquiring a property interest
to be transferred to such person under this section.
(2) If no payment is made by a permit holder
under paragraph (1), within a reasonable time,
the Secretary shall offer such rights-of-way to
the original owner for reacquisition at the original price paid by the Secretary. If such original
owner refuses to reacquire such property after a
reasonable period, the Secretary shall dispose of
such property in accordance with applicable provisions of law governing disposal of property of
the United States.
(e) Federal law governing Federal lands
This section shall not affect any Federal law
governing Federal lands.
(Pub. L. 95–617, title VI, § 602, Nov. 9, 1978, 92
Stat. 3164.)
CODIFICATION
Subsection (f), which required the Secretary to report
annually to Congress on actions taken pursuant to this
section, terminated, effective May 15, 2000, pursuant to
section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a
note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance.
See, also, page 90 of House Document No. 103–7.
Section was enacted as part of the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, and not as part of the
Federal Power Act which generally comprises this
chapter.
DEFINITIONS
For definitions of terms used in this section, see section 2602 of this title.

§ 824b. Disposition of property; consolidations;
purchase of securities
(a) Authorization
(1) No public utility shall, without first having
secured an order of the Commission authorizing
it to do so—
(A) sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the
whole of its facilities subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, or any part thereof of
a value in excess of $10,000,000;
(B) merge or consolidate, directly or indirectly, such facilities or any part thereof with
those of any other person, by any means whatsoever;
(C) purchase, acquire, or take any security
with a value in excess of $10,000,000 of any
other public utility; or
(D) purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire an
existing generation facility—
(i) that has a value in excess of $10,000,000;
and
(ii) that is used for interstate wholesale
sales and over which the Commission has jurisdiction for ratemaking purposes.
(2) No holding company in a holding company
system that includes a transmitting utility or
an electric utility shall purchase, acquire, or
take any security with a value in excess of
$10,000,000 of, or, by any means whatsoever, directly or indirectly, merge or consolidate with,
a transmitting utility, an electric utility company, or a holding company in a holding company system that includes a transmitting utility, or an electric utility company, with a value
in excess of $10,000,000 without first having se-

§ 824c

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

cured an order of the Commission authorizing it
to do so.
(3) Upon receipt of an application for such approval the Commission shall give reasonable notice in writing to the Governor and State commission of each of the States in which the physical property affected, or any part thereof, is situated, and to such other persons as it may deem
advisable.
(4) After notice and opportunity for hearing,
the Commission shall approve the proposed disposition, consolidation, acquisition, or change
in control, if it finds that the proposed transaction will be consistent with the public interest, and will not result in cross-subsidization of
a non-utility associate company or the pledge or
encumbrance of utility assets for the benefit of
an associate company, unless the Commission
determines that the cross-subsidization, pledge,
or encumbrance will be consistent with the public interest.
(5) The Commission shall, by rule, adopt procedures for the expeditious consideration of applications for the approval of dispositions, consolidations, or acquisitions, under this section.
Such rules shall identify classes of transactions,
or specify criteria for transactions, that normally meet the standards established in paragraph (4). The Commission shall provide expedited review for such transactions. The Commission shall grant or deny any other application
for approval of a transaction not later than 180
days after the application is filed. If the Commission does not act within 180 days, such application shall be deemed granted unless the Commission finds, based on good cause, that further
consideration is required to determine whether
the proposed transaction meets the standards of
paragraph (4) and issues an order tolling the
time for acting on the application for not more
than 180 days, at the end of which additional period the Commission shall grant or deny the application.
(6) For purposes of this subsection, the terms
‘‘associate company’’, ‘‘holding company’’, and
‘‘holding company system’’ have the meaning
given those terms in the Public Utility Holding
Company Act of 2005 [42 U.S.C. 16451 et seq.].
(b) Orders of Commission
The Commission may grant any application
for an order under this section in whole or in
part and upon such terms and conditions as it
finds necessary or appropriate to secure the
maintenance of adequate service and the coordination in the public interest of facilities subject
to the jurisdiction of the Commission. The Commission may from time to time for good cause
shown make such orders supplemental to any
order made under this section as it may find
necessary or appropriate.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. II, § 203, as added Aug.
26, 1935, ch. 687, title II, § 213, 49 Stat. 849; amended Pub. L. 109–58, title XII, § 1289(a), Aug. 8, 2005,
119 Stat. 982.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, referred to in subsec. (a)(6), is subtitle F of title XII of
Pub. L. 109–58, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 972, which is classified principally to part D (§ 16451 et seq.) of subchapter

Page 1332

XII of chapter 149 of Title 42, The Public Health and
Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Short Title note set out under section 15801
of Title 42 and Tables.
AMENDMENTS
2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–58 amended subsec. (a)
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: ‘‘No public utility shall sell, lease, or otherwise
dispose of the whole of its facilities subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, or any part thereof of a
value in excess of $50,000, or by any means whatsoever,
directly or indirectly, merge or consolidate such facilities or any part thereof with those of any other person,
or purchase, acquire, or take any security of any other
public utility, without first having secured an order of
the Commission authorizing it to do so. Upon application for such approval the Commission shall give reasonable notice in writing to the Governor and State
commission of each of the States in which the physical
property affected, or any part thereof, is situated, and
to such other persons as it may deem advisable. After
notice and opportunity for hearing, if the Commission
finds that the proposed disposition, consolidation, acquisition, or control will be consistent with the public
interest, it shall approve the same.’’
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2005 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 109–58, title XII, § 1289(b), (c), Aug. 8, 2005, 119
Stat. 983, provided that:
‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this
section [amending this section] shall take effect 6
months after the date of enactment of this Act [Aug. 8,
2005].
‘‘(c) TRANSITION PROVISION.—The amendments made
by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall not
apply to any application under section 203 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824b) that was filed on or before the date of enactment of this Act [Aug. 8, 2005].’’

§ 824c. Issuance of securities; assumption of liabilities
(a) Authorization by Commission
No public utility shall issue any security, or
assume any obligation or liability as guarantor,
indorser, surety, or otherwise in respect of any
security of another person, unless and until, and
then only to the extent that, upon application
by the public utility, the Commission by order
authorizes such issue or assumption of liability.
The Commission shall make such order only if it
finds that such issue or assumption (a) is for
some lawful object, within the corporate purposes of the applicant and compatible with the
public interest, which is necessary or appropriate for or consistent with the proper performance by the applicant of service as a public utility and which will not impair its ability to perform that service, and (b) is reasonably necessary or appropriate for such purposes. The provisions of this section shall be effective six
months after August 26, 1935.
(b) Application approval or modification; supplemental orders
The Commission, after opportunity for hearing, may grant any application under this section in whole or in part, and with such modifications and upon such terms and conditions as it
may find necessary or appropriate, and may
from time to time, after opportunity for hearing
and for good cause shown, make such supplemental orders in the premises as it may find
necessary or appropriate, and may by any such
supplemental order modify the provisions of any