The Post Falls Hydroelectric Project No. 12606 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing process was the second to undergo a Department of Interior Expedited Trial-Type Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. In this paper we describe the basic elements of the trial-type hearing and the lessons we learned from our involvement in this hearing process. As fisheries biologists we were involved in many of the key issues from the FERC-approved alternative licensing process through the hearing. We found the compressed schedule of the hearing process to be the most challenging factor. In the Post Falls hearing we were successful on fisheries issues primarily because of extensive preparation prior to and during the early stages of the hearing process.
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