20070812 Ver 1_Stanly County Boards of Commissioners Ltr_20070529

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Subject:
From: "Bernstein, Marc" <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 11:43:16 -0400
To: "John Dorney" <[e-mail]>
John,
Please review the attached documents. There seem to be some suggestion that there are water quality issues
here. There is also, obviously, a 401 application coming (or already arrived) from Alcoa. In your understanding,
are the WQ issues discussed in the attached related the FERC license at all?
Marc Bernstein
Special Deputy Attorney General
NC Department of Justice
Stanly County Wrong Jeopardizing Opportunity.doc
Stanly County
Content-Description: Wrong
Jeopardizing
Opportunity.doc
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Content-Description: Di4700705211725.pdf
Di4700705211725.pdf Content-Type: application/octet-stream
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1 of 1 6/3/2007 4:47 PM

r,
Stanly County
Board of Commissioners
1000 North First Street, Suite 10
ALBEMARLE, NORTH CAROLINA
28001
Mr. Gene Ellis
Alcoa Power Generating Inc.
Yadkin Division
PO Box 576
Badin, North Carolina 28009-0576
Dear Mr. Ellis:
Tony Dennis, Chinn
Gene McIntyre V/Chair
Sherrill Smith
Dr. Nalin Mehta
Lindsey Dunevant
In a letter dated May 21, 2007, you claimed that Stanly County has "chosen to use
misinformation to raise uncertainty and fear about possible risks." On the contrary, we have
received information from local residents who worked for your company that waste from
Alcoa's operations has been dumped on lands within Stanly County. That information has
led to the identification of several. new potential dumpsites which we provided to the
appropriate state agencies for investigation.
We continue to receive information from your former employees and will continue to
forward such information to the proper federal and state authorities. Here are some
additional facts that cause us concern for the health and safety of the citizens we serve:
• Alcoa's operations included the disposal of spent pot-linings and other refuse
from the smelting operations which is now known to be hazardous. The Badin
Smelter produced 4,800 tons per year of spent pot linings - a hazazdous waste
containing cyanide complexes. For decades, these pollutants were dischazged
into our air and disposed of on our lands and in waterways without regulation
or concern
• Environmental contamination of the Badin Smelting Works site and the
surrounding areas, located on the shore of Badin Lake, has been documented
in ground water, swimming areas, soil and our streams.
• Certain Alcoa-owned lands in Stanly County were used in the past as disposal
sites for post-processing industrial waste from the Badin Smelting Works.
• Stanly County has the highest ground water concentrations of arsenic in the
State and there is reason to believe that these levels are in part due to the
Badin operations of Alcoa. .
• The presence of such contamination may pose a significant hazard to the
community, contaminate our waters, and inhibit new and desirable
development in the Badin area which has lost jobs and a stable economic basis

now that A1coa's Badin smelting plant is essentially closed and has been
partially dismantled.
In your letter, you declared that Alcoa has "worked closely with state and federal
officials for more than 20 years to identify and remediate waste sites and have already spent
$$ million in cleanup efforts, with plans to spend $1-2 million more in the next year."
However, as you well know, that amount absolutely pales in comparison to what you have
previously admitted it would cost to remediate the Badin sites.
In court documents in Washington State, Alcoa argued and agreed that an
environmental cleanup at Badin would cost in excess of $50 million. The $10 million you
referenced in your letter is barely a good start. Alcoa owes the citizens of Stanly County an
explanation of the discrepancies between the claims it made in that litigation and the
statements you now make in your letter that criticizes the County. It is patently unfair for
you to make public pronouncements in North Carolina about the extent of the environmental
damage without disclosing information that Alcoa made available in the lawsuit to gain
recoveries on insurance policies.
Your letter speaks of "redevelopment plans" and "lost opportunity." However, the
facts set forth above call into question your ability to redevelop a site that Alcoa has
essentially shut down. If Alcoa is truly dedicated to economic development in Stanly
County, it will fund the entire remediation and allocate a significant portion of its electricity
output to the County for use in encouraging new employment and other public purposes.
On behalf of Stanly County, I ask that you identify just what "misinformation" we
have relied upon in making our request to the North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources. Ta clear up any differences, we ask that you allow and assist in the
payment of an independent environmental testing effort on all alleged waste site in Stanly
County, including those on Alcoa property. If Alcoa has nothing to hide then you should
have no problem allowing such an investigation and making funds available to get to the
truth of the matter.
What lies below the surface of the land in Stanly County and in its rivers is not a
game for us. The futures of our citizens' lives and livelihoods are at stake and we take very
seriously our duty to protect them. If Alcoa is truly a "world leader in environmental
stewazdship," you should find the County's request for all of the relevant information from
the Washington lawsuit and the independent testing of waste disposal sites quite modest in
light of A1coa's status as amulti-billion dollar international company. We look forward to
your prompt response.
S' rel
~y /%~ ~~
Ton %D~ennis
Chairman

AI.COA
May 21, 2007
Mr. Tony Dennis
Chairman, Board of Commissioners
County of Stanly, NC
1000 North First Street, Suite 10
Albemarle, NC 28001
Dear Mr. Dennis,
Alcoa Power Generating Inc.
Yadkin Division
PO Box 576
Badin, North Carolina 28009-0576
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.alcoa.com/yadkin
I am writing to express Alcoa's concern and disappointment in the way Stanly
County officials have wrongly and repeatedly attacked us in recent months.
From the beginning, we have been forthright with relevant information about
waste sites associated with the Badin Works smelter and have pledged to work
with state and federal officials to manage waste in a responsible and appropriate
manner. Unfortunately, Stanly County has refused to accept factual information
and chosen to use misinformation to raise uncertainty and fear about possible
risks.
As Stanly County officials are fully aware, the management of waste is heavily
regulated by government agencies and Alcoa has a permanent legal
responsibility for the waste generated by Badin Works. We have worked closely
with state and federal officials for more than 20 years to identify and remediate
waste sites and have already spent $8 million in cleanup efforts, with plans to
spend $1-2 million more in the next year. Last month, the N.C. Department of
Environment and Natural Resources delivered a clear message -the sites do
not pose any known human health or environmental risks.
Recently, Stanly County alleged there may be other waste sites. If there are
additional waste sites associated with the smelter, Alcoa will take responsibility
for managing the sites. We have asked the County to provide any information it
has about these alleged sites so we may conduct an investigation and, if
necessary, remediate the sites. As we have in the past, we will work with the
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources throughout the process.
With regard to economic development in Stanly County, Alcoa has already begun
discussions with County and state officials about redeveloping portions of the
Badin Works smelter site to help attract new industries and jobs to the region.
We know from experience that the successful redevelopment of smelters and
other industrial sites can breathe new life into a community. We've seen it
happen before, and we believe it is possible in Stanly County.

..
However, rather than work with us to achieve the many economic benefits of
such a redevelopment project, the County is hindering our efforts. It is difficult to
attract new industries and jobs to central North Carolina -and it will be
considerably more difficult if the County continues to misrepresent the human
health and environmental risks associated with these waste sites. By taking such
a negative and adversarial approach, Stanly County is creating a hostile
business environment that may put our redevelopment plans in jeopardy and
cause the people of Stanly County to miss out on a tremendous opportunity.
Alcoa has long been acknowledged as a world leader in environmental
stewardship. It is our fifth year on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and we
were recently named one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" by Ethisphere
Magazine. Given this track record and our long history of service to the Stanly
County community, we expected a better working relationship.
hope through your leadership the County will change its present course.
Respectfully,
_ t,.~.,
Gene Ellis
Licensing & Property Manager
cc: Stanly County Commissioners
Jerry Myers -Stanly County Manager
Matt Irvin -Stanly News & Press
Leon Warren - WSPC