WASHINGTON, Mar 4, 2008 -- UPI

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved 47 permits for companies to turn water currents into electricity, it was reported Tuesday.

But, the permit process has caught some officials, environmentalists and community members unaware.

Experts say 10 percent of the country's electrical needs could be furnished by harnessing the power of river and ocean currents, including harnessing the power of waves, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

Forty-one permits are under review and more are expected. Hydrokinetic turbines are supplying New York City with electricity, the report said, and one developer is seeking to harness the Gulf Stream, submitting a permit to control 1,050 miles of the Atlantic Ocean's power.

But ocean environmentalist Richard Charter told the Monitor the process "feels like a new Klondike gold rush" that is happening "under the national radar."

Communities are concerned their waterfronts are at risk. "We fear that FERC, as a distant agency, may not consider local concerns," Mayor Doug Hammerstrom of Fort Bragg, Calif., said.

Others have filed complaints about the filing process. "FERC has a John Wayne self-image," retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration attorney Elizabeth Mitchell, said to the Monitor.

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