Under what authority can American Electric Power manage what is being built on the shoreline?
As the licensee, AEP has the responsibility and obligation under its license from FERC to manage the different occupancy and uses of project lands. AEP is to manage the project lands in such a way as to protect the environmental, public recreation, cultural, scenic, and power production resources of the project. In order to carry out AEPs obligations under its license, property interests within the project boundary in the form of a Flowage Right and Easement Deed were acquired in the late 1950s and early 1960s before the project was constructed. These interests are recorded in the respective counties surrounding the lake and are often referred to simply as flowage rights. These Flowage Right and Easement Deeds conveyed interest to AEP that run with the land and as such are part of a federally licensed project. Unfortunately, with the rapid pace of development at the lake in recent years, the interests held by AEP may have been overlooked and uses of project property have occurred as if
