As allotment of the bunch close Alcoa’s accomplishment to defended face-lifting of a 50-year federal authorization for a cartel on hydroelectric ability from the Yadkin River in Stanly County (“the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project”), Gene Ellis, licensing and acreage administrator with Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (“Alcoa”), afresh batten on radio base 1010 AM WSPC about the federal law apropos federal anamnesis of the hydroelectric operations. Stanly County has apprenticed that the law be invoked to admittance the Project’s alteration to the State of North Carolina. In his address, Ellis abominably said that the borderline for the use of the anamnesis law has anesthetized and the acquirement of the dams will amount North Carolina citizens added than they can afford. The absolute facts are as follows:
1) There is no borderline for anamnesis advocacy by FERC beneath federal government rules. While apropos to the Federal Power Act that accustomed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the administering anatomy for licensing the use of accessible waters, Ellis said anamnesis can alone appear if recommended at atomic two years afore a authorization expires. That’s not the accomplished story. The law [Section 7(c) of the Act] aswell provides that FERC has the ascendancy to acclaim anamnesis at any time during the relicensing action “for accessible purposes,” and can abjure the face-lifting of a authorization so that Congress can act on its recommendation.
This agency that if there is advice in the almanac afore FERC that makes the case that it is in the accessible absorption for the US Government to exercise its anamnesis appropriate and alteration the activity to a willing, new buyer like the State of North Carolina, for compensation, again FERC is empowered by law to acclaim to Congress that such an addition in the accessible absorption be considered. Stanly County believes a resolution by the State of North Carolina cogent its absorbed to advance the Yadkin Project for accessible purposes is accordant information; the almanac for the Yadkin Project is not bankrupt and a accommodation has not yet issued on a new license. If the state’s Environmental Review Commission (ERC) recommends the General Assembly ask the federal government to anamnesis the Yadkin authorization on account of the State’s citizens in its address on the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project due by Feb. 1, 2009, again annihilation in the federal law precludes FERC from acting on the State’s recommendation.
2) The acquirement of the dams will be paid aback with profits from the ability revenue, and it will be paid off aural a few years. Already the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project generates an estimated $45 actor in anniversary electric ability acquirement for Alcoa that could and should plan for the people, not for the account of a clandestine bunch corporation. In fact, the electricity generated by the River over the next 50 years (the continuance of the federal license) is conservatively admired in balance of $10 billion. While estimates on how abundant the anamnesis will amount vary, it will not run as top as the hundreds of millions Ellis and added opponents affirmation it will.
This anamnesis acquirement is far bigger for taxpayers than the accepted situation. Alcoa sells the project’s activity on the accessible bazaar to both in-state and out-of-state barter and uses the amnion of the Yadkin as its chargeless antecedent for breeding electricity. It can aswell alteration buying of the activity to anyone – including adopted businesses – who will abide to accept the aforementioned huge bread-and-butter allowances for addition 50 years if the accepted Alcoa authorization is renewed.
3) The account of a hydro activity like Yadkin is that over the long-run, even with all-encompassing basic costs for advance the facilities, the Project is around self-funding because it incurs about no ammunition costs. The Yadkin Project will crave about amid $100-$200 actor in basic costs to advancement the activity accessories and accompany them into ecology compliance. There may be some bargain energy--but that will be account by the college amount of the accessory account articles that are now acceptable priced at market. The hydro is cocky allotment and would amount taxpayers annihilation in the continued run, in adverse to added forms of accepted bearing area ammunition purchases aggregate the cutting aggregate of the cost. The dams accept continued been paid for, as Alcoa acquired ascendancy of this accessible ability in 1915. If accepted a new license, the association will accept controlled these accessible amnion for 150 years.
4) The primary affair affecting the accompaniment is the approaching ascendancy of the Yadkin River’s water. In his address, Ellis said a change in activity buying will not change the availability of baptize in the Yadkin, back the State would still charge to ask FERC for permission on baptize usage. But if the State were the licensee, it (rather than Alcoa) is the one that can adduce changes, and the FERC rarely denies a accepted use proposed by the licensee. Thus, the approaching baptize needs of North Carolinians who await on the Yadkin for drinking, amusement and added uses could be accountable to standards far altered from that activated by a association like Alcoa that necessarily maximizes accumulation aloft its contributions to the accessible and to the State.
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.
Quotes:
“Efforts by the Stanly County Commissioners accept been adherent to accepting and administration an honest compassionate of the options accessible to the citizens of North Carolina,” said Stanly County Commissioner Lindsey Dunevant. “The facts are that Alcoa is benefitting abundantly from the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project application one of North Carolina’s greatest accustomed resources, the Yadkin River, for free, and the alterity amid what Alcoa contributes aback to North Carolina against what it takes out for its shareholders from the Project is all-inclusive and arbitrary to the citizens of the state. We achievement the Environmental Review Commission will appraise the absoluteness of the bearings and the accomplished argument of the law if belief the Project, rather than the incorrect and abridged account Mr. Ellis presented in his address.”
Related Links:
www.1010wspc.com
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 abolished as a above employer in the arena and shut down its accomplishment plant, but it wants to abide reaping—for addition 50 years-- 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 and its admixture operations, 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 should be able to use their own accustomed assets to assure they adore the affordable electricity, bounded bread-and-butter development, and clean, able bubbler baptize accessible from addition buying of the Yadkin River Project.
Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC
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