20070812 Ver 2_State should control Yadkin River dams_20101210

Dorney, John
From: Massengale, Susan [[e-mail]]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 10:35 AM
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Subject: State should control Yadkin River dams
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Winston-Salem Journal Editorial
State should control Yadkin River dams
By Journal Editorial Staff ( Winston-Salem Journal
Published. December 10, 2010
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nowBUZZ Up!
In May of 2009, as Gov. Bev Perdue and legislative leaders began their push to take control of the Yadkin
River dams, we said here that they should forge a compromise with the company that operates the four
dams, Alcoa Inc. We called for Alcoa to work harder to keep clean the river, which provides drinking water for
more than a million people in our area, and possibly pay a user fee to the state.
The compromise got nowhere. Pollution problems continued. And last week, the N.C. Division of Water
Quality, saying that the company intentionally withheld environmental information from regulators, revoked the
water-quality certificate that the company needs to continue operating its power-generating dams along the
river.
Alcoa, which plans to fight the certificate revocation, is still operating the dams. But it's time for the state to
control them. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should "recapture" the license to operate the four
dams in counties just below Forsyth and designate the license to the state. That's allowed by law, although it's
never been done before, and would require a Congressional vote.
Alcoa, which plans to appeal the state revocation and is pushing for a renewal of its license, has painted the
state's attempt to control the dams as a government takeover of private business. That's a vast
exaggeration.Alcoa has held a 50-year license to operate the dams, and the renewal of that license is now
being considered by the commission. The river belongs to the people of North Carolina, and is protected by
the state and federal governments. If the state does prevail over Alcoa in what's sure to be a hard-fought
battle, it should give the company a fair-market value for the dams and related infrastructure.
The river must receive better care.
It's the state's second largest, and provides drinking water for the residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth
Count and many other people. It nurtures much flora and fauna.
We'd be naive, however, if we didn't recognize that this fight is about money as well.
Alcoa grosses about 4 million annually selling the clean, hydroelectric power the dams produce, company
officials said last year, and nets about 8 million of that.
If the state, is to be a better steward of the river - which should be its chief goal - and make money in the
process, it needs to quickly come up with a well-defined plan for running the dams, whether it does it itself or
contracts with a private company to do so. One advantage to the latter option is that a private company could
share in the considerable costs of buying up Alcoa's infrastructure.
But first, the state must recapture the license and prevail in revoking its certificate. State officials said last
week that Alcoa, in company e-mails, intentionally withheld information on the "critical matter of dissolved
oxygen" when it successfully applied for the state certificate it needed to keep operating. Alcoa officials
contend that's not the case, and say they're dealing with concerns about oxygen levels in the river. Low
oxygen levels are a threat for fish and other wildlife.
Alcoa officials have said their company pays several million dollars annually in federal, state and local taxes
and provides public swimming areas, boat ramps and land for hunting and hiking. The company's aluminum-
smelting plant in Badin, which once employed 1,000, has been closed for several years now. Company officials
said they're rehabilitating the plant in hopes of finding another business to locate there.
It's time for the state to control the Yadkin River dams. Yadkin Riverkeeper Dean Nauioks and leaders
fromStanly County have done a good job of pointing out the problems with Alcoa's operation of them.
Theregulatory commission should heed the points they've raised and deny Alcoa's application for license
renewal.
The state should carefully prepare to take over the job of operating the dams, and better protection of the river
should be its main objective.
Stisan Massengale
Public Information Officer
DENR- Division of Water Quality
1617 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
[phone]; fax [phone]
Please note: my e-mail address has changed to susan.massengale ivnedenngov
F.-mail correspondence to cmd from this a(Uress rnav he subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.