ANNAPOLIS, MD (AP) – An appeals court has invalidated a federal license for the Conowingo Dam in Maryland. The ruling sends the license back to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for further proceedings. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agreed with environmental groups that FERC exceeded its authority when it approved a 50-year license last year without including the Water Quality Certification that Maryland issued in 2018. The groups challenged the state’s Conowingo Dam settlement with Constellation Energy, arguing that it failed to protect water quality in the Susquehanna River, the Chesapeake Bay’s primary tributary.