16 U.S.C. § 798
Section 798 · Purpose and scope of preliminary permits; transfer and cancellation
This is § 5 of the Federal Power Act of 1920
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 21 court decisions — leading case Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission (1965)
Most recently applied in Metro Hydroelectric Co. v. Metro Parks (September 2008)
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.
Each preliminary permit issued under this subchapter shall be for the sole purpose of maintaining priority of application for a license under the terms of this chapter for such period or periods, not exceeding a total of 4 years, as in the discretion of the Commission may be necessary for making examinations and surveys, for preparing maps, plans, specifications, and estimates, and for making financial arrangements.
The Commission may—
(1) extend the period of a preliminary permit once for not more than 4 additional years beyond the 4 years permitted by subsection (a) if the Commission finds that the permittee has carried out activities under such permit in good faith and with reasonable diligence; and
(2) after the end of an extension period granted under paragraph (1), issue an additional permit to the permittee if the Commission determines that there are extraordinary circumstances that warrant the issuance of the additional permit.
Each such permit shall set forth the conditions under which priority shall be maintained.
Such permits shall not be transferable, and may be canceled by order of the Commission upon failure of permittees to comply with the conditions thereof or for other good cause shown after notice and opportunity for hearing.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–270, §3001(a)(1), substituted "4 years" for "three years".
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–270, §3001(a)(2), inserted dash after "The Commission may", designated remaining provisions as par. (1), substituted "4 additional years beyond the 4 years" for "2 additional years beyond the 3 years", and added par. (2).
2013—Pub. L. 113–23 designated existing first, second, and third sentences as subsecs. (a), (c), and (d), respectively, and added subsec. (b).
1935—Act Aug. 26, 1935, §203, amended section generally, striking out "and a license issued" at end of second sentence and inserting "or for other good cause shown after notice and opportunity for hearing" in last sentence.