20070812 Ver 2_Permit halt_20101203

Dorney, John
From: Massengale, Susan [[e-mail]]
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 12:40 PM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: One more ...
Attachments: ATT00001..c
From the Charlotte Observer
Permit halt suggests Alcoa rethink options
Yadkin River dispute begs for a compromise that works for all.
Posted: Friday, Dec. 03, 2010
A legal proceeding between Alcoa Power Generating Inc. on one side and the Perdue administration,
environmental groups and Stanly County on the other stopped cold this week when state regulators
revoked a water quality permit Alcoa needs for a federal license to keep operating hydroelectric plants on
the Yadkin River.
The state had approved that certification, a key hurdle for Alcoa before the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission can grant a license, but withdrew it Wednesday after discovering Alcoa had not disclosed
problems with dissolved oxygen. In fact, a-mails between 2006 and 2008 showed that Alcoa discussed
how to avoid telling the state about the problems and whether the N.C. Division of Water Quality would
notice.
The e-mails came up in a long-running administrative hearing in Raleigh. Not long after the a-mails
became public, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources revoked the certification
because Alcoa "intentionally withheld information on the project's ability to meet the state's water quality
standards."
The state was in the process of certifying the Yadkin's water quality standards and supporting another
license for Alcoa's dams when the Easley administration put the brakes on its support late in Gov. Mike
Easley's final term. Since then Gov. Bev Perdue has joined with some environmental groups as well as
Stanly County and local economic developers who opposed Alcoa getting another license. They argue
that Alcoa got a 50-year license to operate four Yadkin River power plants in 1958 partly on the promise
of employing a large workforce at its Badin smelter. That plant has now been taken out of service, and
Alcoa still generates and sells power on the open market.
Alcoa's opponents include a bipartisan group of state legislators who sponsored a bill to set up a
commission that might purchase the hydro plants and use income from power sales to boost economic,
environmental and cultural resources in the Yadkin region. A purchase could carry a high cost, but it
would allow the state to make independent decisions about the use of the Yadkin's waters and to focus
power revenue on boosting jobs.
Perdue issued a statement Wednesday chiding Alcoa for having "misled the state. Alcoa owes it to the
people of North Carolina to provide accurate and complete information in order to protect the public's
health and safety. The justification for Alcoa's license was the jobs that the company provided. Nearly all
of those jobs are gone, as is the rationale for Alcoa's original license."
While Alcoa argues that it withheld no material information from the state, the fact that its representatives
discussed hiding the information is a big blow to the company's hopes of getting another federal license
anytime soon. The company wants to appeal the certification revocation, but the prospect for quickly
renewing its license is dim.
It's worth remembering that Stanly County originally wanted more direct help with economic development
to replace the lost Alcoa jobs, and environmental groups want Alcoa to clean up pollution they believe
Alcoa created. Alcoa says it's willing to talk to all parties and asked Perdue to meet in 2009 but she
declined.
Now that the state has revoked the water certification and the administrative hearing is at a standstill, this
would be a good time for Alcoa and all the parties involved to take a deep breath, think about options and
work toward a resolution that could work for everyone. There's certainly plenty of time for it. Alcoa is the
key, and after this week, it appears to be a long way from getting another federal license.
Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/12/03/1882679/permit-halt-suggests-alcoa-rethink.html#ixzzl73TrKJsi
Suau Massengale
Public Information Officer
DENR- Di-dsion of Water Quality
1617 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
[phone], fax [phone]
Please note: my e-mail address has changed to susan.massengale(&ncdenr.gov
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the
North Carolina Public Recordr Law and may be disclosed to third parties.