NCACC Adopts Resolution Urging Environmental Review Commission to Study Yadkin Licensing Options

The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) has absolutely anesthetized a resolution acknowledging the state’s Environmental Review Commission (ERC) abstraction to appraise the accoutrement of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project relicensing on issues basic to North Carolina’s approaching apple-pie baptize supply. The resolution urges the ERC to abstraction all accessible options to the State of North Carolina, including the anamnesis accoutrement beneath federal law, as it reviews the impacts on the State if Alcoa’s appliance for a new 50-year authorization for breeding hydroelectric ability on the Yadkin River, aswell accepted as the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project, is accepted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The resolution was adopted at the 101st NCACC Annual Conference in New Bern, N.C. on August 22. In July, both the General Assembly and Governor Mike Easley answerable the ERC with the assignment of belief and developing proposals in affiliation with the federal relicensing proceeding, which will administer if Alcoa receives an absolute authorization for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project amid in Central North Carolina. At pale is an estimated $45 actor in anniversary electric ability acquirement and baptize rights that Alcoa’s opponents above the accompaniment accept should be accountable to the ascendancy for the people, not for the account of a clandestine bunch corporation. The baptize rights to accomplish electricity over the next 50 years are conservatively admired in balance of $10 billion.

Over the endure six months, resolutions opposing Alcoa’s operation of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project accept been active by Davidson, Randolph, Iredell, Anson, Cabarrus and Union County Boards of Commissioners, and the Centralina Council of Governments. The Yadkin Hydroelectric Project has four hydroelectric stations, dams and reservoirs alternating a 38-mile amplitude of the Yadkin River, one of the longest rivers in North Carolina and one of its greatest accustomed resources. The four baptize reservoirs are High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows and Falls. The Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed as a accomplished includes 21 counties and contains 93 accompaniment municipalities.

Alcoa’s 1958 FERC authorization asleep on April 30, 2008. Instead of acceding Alcoa addition 50-year license, FERC absitively alone to acquiesce the association a one-year extension. The ERC is accepted to affair its final address by Feb. 1, 2009.

The NCACC was accustomed for the advancement of canton government in North Carolina and all 100 counties are represented by the organization. The NCACC serves as the counties’ advocate afore the executive, aldermanic and administrative branches of accompaniment government. The abounding argument of the resolution adopted by the NCACC is as follows:

WHEREAS, the North Carolina General Assembly through Senate Bill 1046 has directed the Environmental Review Commission to abstraction the impacts on the State of North Carolina of the abeyant arising of a fifty-year authorization by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the operation of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project by Alcoa; and

WHEREAS, abounding of the Counties amid aural the Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed accept requested the State of North Carolina to arbitrate in the advancing licensing action afore the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in action to a fifty-year authorization accepting accepted to Alcoa; and

WHEREAS, fifty years ago, the federal government accustomed Alcoa to use the accessible baptize to accomplish electricity and actualize jobs but now, Alcoa has about abolished as a above employer and provider of jobs, but wants to abide to acquire the allowances of the baptize that accurately belongs to the people; and

WHEREAS, if the federal government renews Alcoa’s license, it will acquiesce Alcoa to accomplish ability not for job conception but to be awash in the accessible electricity bazaar for a abundant profit; and

WHEREAS, essentially, if Alcoa obtains the authorization renewal, a accessible river will be acclimated for the next fifty years alone to aerate Alcoa’s profits; and

WHEREAS, in accession to the bread-and-butter issues, Stanly County is abnormally anxious about the history of ecology contagion acquired by Alcoa’s operations in Badin;

WHEREAS, all 100 Counties in North Carolina accept accomplished aboriginal duke the impacts of a aridity and accustomed the connected severity of North Carolina’s drought, our accompaniment and bounded leaders have to accept the adeptness to accomplish appropriate and event-specific decisions about our baptize supply; and

WHEREAS, if Alcoa is accepted addition fifty-year license, and the State of North Carolina capital to accomplish reasonable use of a backlog accountant to Alcoa for the purpose of attention the accessible baptize supply, the State could be appropriate to seek permission from Alcoa or some added adopted or calm article that may access Alcoa’s license; and

WHEREAS, the Counties amid aural the Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed are faced with the individual a lot of important affair they accept accepted with attention to their ecology and bread-and-butter future, the brand of which we will not see for addition generation; and

WHEREAS, the Counties amid aural the Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed needs our abutment in adjustment to ensure a affluent and added chiefly advantageous approaching for their accouchement and those yet to come;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners urges the Environmental Review Commission to abstraction all accessible options to the State of North Carolina, including the anamnesis accoutrement beneath federal law, if it reviews: (1) the socioeconomic impacts of Alcoa's accommodation to abandon its job-producing accomplishment activities at its Badin ability that relied on the use of low amount ability from the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project; (2) the affirmation of an adequate, apple-pie approaching baptize accumulation for the region; and (3) the allocation of baptize for non ability uses from the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.

Quotes:
“It is a able account for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners to accomplish in auspicious the accompaniment to appraise all accessible options accompanying to the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project relicensing and appearance account for our baptize rights and accessible resources,” said Stanly County Manager Jerry Myers. “We are actual apprenticed of this resolution, and we achievement that associates of the Environmental Review Commission abstraction how all counties in the watershed are and will be abnormally afflicted on abounding levels by this relicensing if Alcoa retains its cartel on ability from the Yadkin River.”

Related Links:
www.ncacc.org
www.ncwaterrights.com
www.mmimarketing.com/blog/?c=Yadkin-Hydroelectric-Project

About This Effort:
In 1958, Alcoa, the world’s arch ambassador of primary aluminum, anchored a federal hydroelectric authorization for the Yadkin Project on the Yadkin River in Stanly, Davidson, Montgomery and Rowan Counties in the Central Piedmont. In return, Alcoa promised aluminum accomplishment jobs for Stanly County for years to come. Alcoa has now about abolished as a above employer in the arena and shut down its accomplishment plants, but it wants to abide accomplishment the allowances of the Yadkin River afterwards its authorization asleep in April of this year. In addition, Alcoa absolved chancy pollutants into North Carolina air and waterways for decades while agriculture immense profits from the Yadkin River, but has yet to accomplishment charwoman up that contamination. It has filed an appliance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to access addition 50-year license. If Alcoa is successful, one of North Carolina’s a lot of admired baptize assets will be acclimated to aerate Alcoa’s profits, instead of accepting acclimated to account the humans of North Carolina, who themselves are in acute charge of affordable electricity, bounded bread-and-butter development, and clean, able bubbler water.

Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC