16 U.S.C. § 816
Section 816 · Preservation of rights vested prior to June 10, 1920
This is § 23 of the Federal Power Act of 1920
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 14 court decisions — leading case City of Tacoma v. Taxpayers of Tacoma (1958)
Most recently applied in Spokane Indian Tribe v. State of Washington (March 1992)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The provisions of this subchapter shall not be construed as affecting any permit or valid existing right-of-way granted prior to June 10, 1920, or as confirming or otherwise affecting any claim, or as affecting any authority heretofore given pursuant to law, but any person, association, corporation, State, or municipality holding or possessing such permit, right-of-way or authority may apply for a license under this chapter, and upon such application the Commission may issue to any such applicant a license in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter and in such case the provisions of this chapter shall apply to such applicant as a licensee under this chapter: Provided, That when application is made for a license under this section for a project or projects already constructed the fair value of said project or projects determined as provided in this section, shall for the purposes of this subchapter and of said license be deemed to be the amount to be allowed as the net investment of the applicant in such project or projects as of the date of such license, or as of the date of such determination, if license has not been issued. Such fair value shall be determined by the Commission after notice and opportunity for hearing.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
Section consists of subsec. (a) of section 23 of act June 10, 1920, as so designated by act Aug. 26, 1935. Subsec. (b) of section 23 of act June 10, 1920, is set out as section 817 of this title.
Amendments
1935—Act Aug. 26, 1935, §210, amended section generally, substituting “part” for “chapter” wherever appearing, substituting “heretofore” for “then”, and substituting the last sentence for “Such fair value may, in the discretion of the commission, be determined by mutual agreement between the commission and the applicant or, in case they cannot agree, jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the district court of the United States in the district within which such project or projects may be located, upon the application of either party, to hear and determine the amount of such fair value.”
Transfer of Functions
Federal Power Commission terminated and its functions with regard to licenses and permits for dams, reservoirs, or other works for development and improvement of navigation and for development and utilization of power across, along, from, or in navigable waters under this subchapter transferred to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by sections 7172(a)(1)(A) and 7293 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.