PRIA Logo™
Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-102

§816 Preservation of Rights Vested Prior to June 10, 1920

Title 16 › CHAPTER 12 — FEDERAL REGULATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF POWER › SUBCHAPTER I — REGULATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATER POWER AND RESOURCES › § 816

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Keeps permits and valid rights-of-way that were given before June 10, 1920 unchanged. It does not cancel those old permits, confirm any claims, or change any earlier legal authority. People, groups, companies, States, or cities that hold those permits or rights can still apply for a license under this law. If they apply, the Commission may grant a license and then the law’s rules will apply to them as licensees. If the application is for a project already built, the Commission will decide the project’s fair value. That fair value will count as the applicant’s net investment for the license, using the date of the license or the date the value is set. The Commission must give notice and a chance for a hearing before setting that fair value.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §816

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

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.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

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.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 816

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102