20070812 Ver 1_Public Comments_20080505 (911)

Mr. John Dorney
401 Development Unit Supervisor
North Carolina Department
of Environment and Natural Resources
2321 Crabtree Boulevard
Raleigh, North Carolina 27604
Re: Section 401 Water Quality Certification
DWQ Project Number 2007-0812
Dear Mr. Dorney:
I am Deborah Pressley, a resident of Albemarle in Stanly County, North Carolina. I
have been studying the issue of Alcoa Power Generating, Inc.'s ("APGI") request for a
Section 401 water quality certification.
Knowing that your department was involved in the Relicensing Settlement Agreement,
I am very concerned that your rulings regarding this 401 Certification will reflect as a
participating party rather than a regulatory agency. In section 1.3.12 Rights, Duties, and
Obligations Regarding Section 401 Certification it states "the Parties shall not: (1) request
or support any Section 401 Certification conditions for the Project that conflict with the
proposed license conditions or any other terms of this Agreement or that add substantial
additional burdens, costs or risks to the Licensee".
You have the discretion to withhold certification until further study of the facts are
completed, based on a following paragraph in the same section "Nothing in this Settlement
Agreement is intended to or shall be construed to affect in any way the authority of the State
of North Carolina pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 1341, and related state statutes and rules, such as by
limiting the authority of the State of North Carolina to issue, condition, or in any way alter a
water quality certification or by limiting the exercise of the State of North Carolina's
discretion."
Water is our most precious and limited resource, we cannot survive without it. Your
department has the responsibility to make sure that it is not damaged or polluted in any way
by any actions of APGI. I ask that you not issue a 401 Certification until all of the facts
regarding the environmental impact to the entire Yadkin region are fully evaluated. It is
important that the safety of our water and the citizens of North Carolina's health take
precedence over the possibility of a delay in licensing.
My family's health is in your hands.
Sincerely,
Deborah S. Pressley
cc Mr. Jerry D. Myers, County Manager, Stanly County
cc Michael Easley, Governor, North Carolina
cc Beverly Perdue, Lt. Governor, North Carolina