Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation

The State of New York obtained a license from the Federal Power Commission (the commission) (defendant) for a hydroelectric-power project. Pursuant to that license, the state attempted to exercise eminent-domain authority to take certain lands needed for the project. Those lands included approximately 1,383 acres belonging to the Tuscarora Indian Nation (Tuscarora) (plaintiff). The land was to be taken to build a reservoir. Unhappy with the forced exchange of land for the offered compensation, the Tuscarora filed a petition for review with the commission, asserting two main arguments. First, the Tuscarora argued that the land was part of a reservation as that term was defined by the Federal Power Act and the land therefore could not be taken absent a commission finding that the license would not interfere with or be inconsistent with the reservation’s purpose. Second, the Tuscarora argued that § 21 of the Federal Power Act, which conferred eminent-domain powers to licensees, was a broad general statute and, as such, did not apply to Indians and their property. The commission held that the state could validly exercise eminent-domain authority under § 21 to condemn the Tuscarora’s land. However, a federal court of appeals concluded that the Tuscarora’s land fell within the act’s definition of a reservation and that taking the land would interfere with the reservation’s purpose. The court therefore overturned the portion of the state’s license that allowed it to condemn Tuscarora land. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.