(A) Except as otherwise provided herein, no person may erect, construct, or build any structure or works in order to dam or impound the waters of a navigable stream or any waters which are tributary to a navigable stream for the purpose of generating hydroelectricity without securing a permit from the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Any projects that are subject to Chapter 33 of Title 58 of the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act are exempted from this section. Further exempted are projects where the project developer without exercising condemnation authority is the existing owner of the property upon which the project is to be constructed and projects which do not exceed sixty acres including in both cases inundated land.

(B) The Department of Health and Environmental Control may issue a permit for the projects in this subsection after a thorough review of the proposed project and a finding that it meets any regulations of the board and the following standards:

(1) The proposed project does not halt or prevent navigation by watercraft of the type ordinarily frequenting the reach of the watercourse in question.

(2) The projects proposed for shoaled areas of the watercourse provide a means of portage or bypass of the project structure.

(3) The need for the proposed project far outweighs the historical and current uses of the stream in question.

(4) The impact of the proposed project will not threaten or endanger plant or animal life.

(5) The recreational and aesthetic benefits or detriments caused by the proposed project do not alter the watercourse or damage riparian lands.

(C) The Attorney General shall represent before any federal agency the department, if so requested by the department, respecting the same application.