On December 29, 2025, FERC terminated the hydropower license for the 0.9-megawatt Au Train Hydroelectric Project (FERC Project No. 10856), located on the Au Train River in Alger County, Michigan (Termination Order). FERC concluded that termination of the license by “implied surrender” was warranted because the project’s licensee, UP Hydro, LLC (UP Hydro), had abandoned good-faith operation of the project through years of safety violations, loss of control over project lands, and financial collapse. The order ends more than two decades of federal oversight over the project and transfers regulatory authority to the State of Michigan to oversee the decommissioning of the dam.

Prior to issuing the Termination Order, FERC on November 14, 2025, issued public notice of its intent to terminate the project license by implied surrender. In the notice, the Commission stated that UP Hydro’s compliance record and loss of control over project lands raised serious questions as to whether the licensee remained capable of operating the project consistent with the terms of its license and Commission orders. FERC stated that dam safety deficiencies at the project date back to 2010, including a lack of sufficient capacity in the project’s spillway to safely pass the probable maximum flood. The notice described repeated failures to meet dam safety deadlines, submit required engineering analyses, implement interim risk-reduction measures, and timely file monitoring and inspection reports. FERC also identified violations of emergency action planning requirements and noted extended periods during which the licensee failed to respond adequately to the directions of Commission staff.

In the notice, the Commission also noted the licensee’s lack of financial resources to complete required dam safety upgrades, including that the licensee filed for bankruptcy protection in 2023 and experienced foreclosure proceedings that resulted in the loss of title to 18 of the 22 parcels associated with the project. As a result, FERC found that the licensee violated Standard Article 5 of the license, which requires a licensee to maintain sufficient ownership and control of project lands and facilities.

Several comments were filed in response to FERC’s notice. Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (Michigan EGLE) and Michigan Department of Natural Resources filed comments supporting license termination. Michigan EGLE cited similarities between the safety issues at the Au Train dam and the Edenville dam failure in 2020 and requested that FERC require UP Hydro to submit a decommissioning plan that would maintain the reservoir at a lower level for public safety and provide continuous flows for environmental resources in the Au Train River. Other commenters opposed termination, citing the project’s renewable energy generation. In its Environmental Assessment, attached to the Termination Order, Commission staff concluded that termination by implied surrender would not result in environmental effects because it would not involve removal of or modifications to project facilities or ground-disturbing activities. UP Hydro did not file comments, however on November 19, 2025, Renewable World Energies, LLC, on behalf of UP Hydro, filed a proposed decommissioning plan for the project, which would involve disconnecting the generators and powerhouse from the substation, blocking the units from spinning, setting the opening to pass the minimum flow, and blocking inflows into the powerhouse so that all inflow discharges over the spillway.

In the Termination Order, FERC concluded that the record developed in response to the November 14 notice supported termination of the project license by implied surrender. The Commission explained that a hydropower license may be terminated when a licensee’s actions or prolonged inaction demonstrate abandonment of the project, even if the licensee has not filed a formal surrender application.

FERC cited Standard Article 16 of the license, which provides that when a licensee discontinues good-faith operation of a project or refuses or neglects to comply with the terms of the license and Commission orders, the Commission may treat the license as surrendered. FERC also relied on its regulations, which allow the Commission to find implied surrender where a licensee causes or allows essential project property to be removed, destroyed, or become unfit for use, or otherwise abandons the project.

Applying those standards, FERC concluded that UP Hydro had abandoned good-faith operation of the project. The Commission explained that UP Hydro’s failure to respond to Commission staff directives constituted implied surrender under Standard Article 16, and that UP Hydro’s Standard Article 5 violation justified implied surrender under FERC’s regulations. FERC emphasized that UP Hydro’s compliance record demonstrates that it is unwilling or unable to resume operation of the project consistent with the license.

The Commission further found that alternative enforcement measures, such as further compliance orders or civil penalties, were unlikely to result in remediation given the licensee’s financial condition and lack of access to project facilities. FERC also denied Michigan EGLE’s request for FERC to require the continuation of minimum flow releases at the project, explaining that once the project license is terminated, it no longer has authority over the project and therefore cannot impose conditions such as minimum flows or continued drawdown.

FERC thus terminated the license, effective close of business December 29, 2025. Michigan EGLE will assume regulatory authority over decommissioning, dam safety, and future oversight of the site.  

A copy of FERC’s order, issued in Docket No. P-10856-141, can be found here.