A federal appeals court has denied Duke Energy’s bid for a longer federal license to manage the Catawba River.
The federal license lets Duke control 225 miles of the Catawba with a series of dams and reservoirs.
It gives the company authority to manage lake levels, release water downstream and decide whether piers may be built. Duke’s initial license expired in 2006.
It asked for a 50-year renewal, the maximum federal law allows. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission instead granted a 40-year term in 2015.
Duke appealed that decision, arguing that FERC had granted longer licenses to other utilities with similar hydro projects. FERC disagreed in 2016.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday denied Duke’s petition for review of the FERC decision