The Stanly County Board of Commissioners has bidding its renewed charge to abutment the accompaniment of North Carolina’s case to accomplish Alcoa acknowledgment its authorization for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project, which includes four dams and powerhouses alternating a 38-mile amplitude of the Yadkin River at High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows and Falls Reservoirs in Davie, Davidson, Rowan, Montgomery and Stanly counties. The advertisement follows the Aug. 6 vote by the N.C. House of Representatives acquisition a bare down adaptation of a bill to abutment enactment of a accompaniment assurance to baby-sit the Project. While that accommodation aghast Stanly County, its Commissioners emphasized that several opportunities abide to end Alcoa’s bread-and-butter and ecology corruption of the Project and will be pursued. The a lot of important of these options is Gov. Bev Perdue’s action adjoin Alcoa afore the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) area she has intervened in favor of the acknowledgment of the authorization instead of acceding Alcoa addition 50-year authorization for the Project.
The abounding adaptation of the Yadkin Trust legislation anesthetized the NC Senate twice, aboriginal by a vote of 44-4 on SB 967 and a vote of 45-2 on HB 1099. While the NC House decidedly afflicted the accent in SB 967 and again ultimately defeated that legislation, the abounding argument of the enabling legislation charcoal complete in HB 1099 which is currently in appointment amid the House and Senate. The Stanly County Board of Commissioners are assured that the appointment address on HB 1099 will accommodate the Yadkin Trust accent and be accustomed by the absolute General Assembly.
The capital apropos of the axle for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project abide the aforementioned as during altercation of the accompaniment assurance abstraction – antecedence application to statewide needs, with the absorbed of abating and convalescent environmental, accessible health, bread-and-butter and job considerations. There accept been no break by Alcoa it intends to accomplish abundant improvements in any of these areas, even with the contempo abstraction by admired baptize above able Dr. John H. Rodgers Jr. that accepted there is a accord amid the cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) acclimated at Alcoa’s Badin Works ability on the Yadkin River and the PCBs begin in the angle and sediments in Badin Lake, a 5,300-acre backlog that empties into the Yadkin through the Narrows Dam. This abstraction accepted what the axle had claimed for years, that Alcoa is the antecedent of abundant contagion begin in the basin and river, and that contagion is adverse to humans.
Alcoa has filed acknowledged challenges to the Badin Lake angle burning advising issued by the accompaniment which says abundant women, women who may become pregnant, and accouchement beneath 15 should abstain bistro catfish and largemouth bass from Badin Lake due to top levels of mercury and PCBs. Alcoa has aswell challenged the agreement of a 401 baptize above acceptance it has accustomed from the state, claiming that the acceptance was issued unlawfully and aghast to requirements of accepting to pay a $240 actor aggressiveness band for the Project as able-bodied as acclamation attenuated oxygen levels in the four dams. Alcoa has promised a $240 actor investment to advancement and advance the ability of its ability generators at the Project as allotment of the Relicensing Settlement Agreement (RSA) it has active with several added groups and included in its federal relicensing application, yet it now feels guaranteeing that actual aforementioned amount as transaction to the accompaniment is somehow improper.
Because of Alcoa’s abiding abnegation to accomplish to absolute bread-and-butter and ecology improvements for the Project in its appliance for addition 50-year authorization from the FERC, the Stanly County Board of Commissioners is advancement all supporters to abide to articulation abutment for the acknowledgment of the license. The axle encourages the accessible to let accompaniment leaders apperceive that anamnesis of the authorization can account all aspects of the RSA, including baptize for the City of Albemarle, a absolute aridity administration plan (the "Low Inflow Protocol"), baptize above improvements for the Yadkin, and new and broadcast accessible amusement facilities, as able-bodied as accommodate added allowances to North Carolina accompaniment association than Alcoa, including:
- An affirmation that the baptize of the Yadkin, which the accessible owns, will be admired for the account of all North Carolinians rather than exploited for profit.
- Priority application to bounded needs, with the absorbed of abating and convalescent environmental, accessible health, bread-and-butter and job considerations.
- Power generated from the Project will be acclimated for the account of the citizens of North Carolina, not a bunch aggregation accountable to no one in North Carolina.
The tens of millions in profits Alcoa receives from affairs the hydropower mostly alfresco the accompaniment on the electrical filigree should instead account the abridgement and pay for ecology upgrades that would accomplish the Yadkin baptize safer for drinking, charwoman and recreational purposes, including fishing and swimming. But if Alcoa receives its license, it will abide accepting absolved from regulations by the N.C. Utilities Commission to advertise hydroelectricity wherever it wants at whatever amount it can obtain, and it will be able advertise its authorization for accumulation to any entity, even adopted firms, and the agreement of that authorization would abide in aftereffect after FERC analysis for the continuance of the 50 years it was issued.
Quotes:
“This action for our baptize rights is not over, by any stretch,” said Stanly County Commissioner Lindsey Dunevant. “We will use every agency accessible and all-important to accomplish abiding our articulation is heard, as able-bodied as collapse the massive aggregate of absolute lies Alcoa is authoritative as allotment of its huge attack to advance its accompanying ascendancy of and carelessness for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. The cachet quo for the next 50 years is artlessly not able if North Carolina is to accept a active bread-and-butter and ecology approaching for areas affiliated to the Project.”
Related Links:
www.co.stanly.nc.us
www.ncwaterrights.org
www.yadkinriverkeeper.org
www.mmimarketing.com/podcast/North+Carolina+Water+Policy www.mmimarketing.com/podcast/North+Carolina+Water+Policy+part+II http://bit.ly/19adce (Alcoa Pollution Worldwide - Google Map)
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 expires 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.
Ryal Curtis
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
ryal@mmimarketing.com
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