stores, guided fishing trips and charters, tours of the rapids, and just plain tourist dollars in general would boost the local economy by at least forty-eight million dollars a year (Kennebec Coalition Study,1996). Whether or not the local population of the Kennebec River Valley welcomes the tourists and their money is another matter entirely.Returning to the primary issue of license renewal for the Edwards Manufacturing Company, the aforementioned environmental concerns weighed heavily on the decision of FERC to deny the application. Furthermore, the fact that the Edwards Dam produces only one-tenth of one percent of Maines total power needs and is five times more expensive than other sources did not work favorably towards the owners case either(American Rivers,1998). American Rivers at one time stated that the power the dam was generating could be saved by replacing seventy-five thousand light bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs(McPhee,1999). As of 1986, the Commission has been required to balance the environmental issues against the benefits of hydro-power before licensing or renewing a license for any hydroelectric dam. During the energy crisis of the early 1970s, and for a substantial period of time before then, the hydroelectric generation of power had been hailed as an environmentally safe and clean source of energy, and a multitude of dams were constructed in numerous areas(Botkin,1999). In the past fifteen to twenty years, however, it has become apparent that hydroelectric dams are not always in the best interests of the environment, and can cause more harm than good in the long run.To better understand the uniqueness of this case, an overview of the history of the Federal Power Act must be provided. At the turn of the century concerns were raised over the protection of public interest regarding water power development. Congress wanted to ensure that the federal government had the option of taking over and operating hydr...
