20070812 Ver 2_NC to Revoke Alcoa Certificate_20101201

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NC To Revoke Alcoa Certificate On Yadkin River MULTIMEDIA
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Julie Rose 41 Listen
Wednesday December 1, 2010
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North Carolina water quality officials have dealt a major blow to Alcoa in its
effort to obtain a new hydropower license on the Yadkin River. The Division of
Water Quality is revoking its endorsement of the project because it says Alcoa
intentionally withheld key information.
Until last Friday, the state Division of Water Quality was in Alcoa's corner, testifying on
the company's behalf in a lawsuit over what's called a "401 water quality certificate."
The state issued the certificate in 2009, but some of Alcoa's opponents appealed it.
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Then in court on Friday, state water quality officials discovered they'd been double-
crossed. Division of Water Quality spokeswoman Susan Massengale says Alcoa
"intentionally withheld some information" from the state.
"What the emails that were entered into the hearing indicate is that Alcoa felt their
technology was not going to meet water quality standards 100 percent of the time, and
that is required." says Massengale.
Now the Division of Water Quality is revoking the 401 certificate it had previously issued.
That's a big problem for Alcoa. The company must have the certificate in order to keep
operating four dams on the Yadkin River and selling the electricity for a profit.
Alcoa spokesman Mike Belwood says the company will appeal the decision to revoke its
certificate.
"It's important to put this in perspective," adds Belwood. "Developing a compliance plan
is complex and involves a lot of discussion and debate. The messages that are in question
are just a few conversations among thousands that occurred over a long period of time
and they weren't material to the final result."
Regardless of those emails, Belwood says Alcoa's dams will meet state water quality
standards. But state officials now wonder if they were too trusting of Alcoa in the
certification process.
The emails would not have come to light had the original water quality certificate not
been challenged by the Yadkin Riverkeeper and Stanly County. They want the state to
take over the hydropower project. Alcoa originally built the dams nearly a century ago to
power an aluminum smelter, which it has since closed.
RELATED LINKS
Public v Private: Power Struggle On The Yadkin
http://www.wfae.org/wfae/1-87-316.cfm?action=display&id=6699 12/1/2010
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