20070812 Ver 2_American Rivers_20090506

Dorney, John
From: Massengale, Susan [[e-mail]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 12:10 PM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Yadkin Riverkeeper Calls For Alcoa To Explain Opposition To State Fish Consumption
Advisory For Badin Lake
Attachments: ATT00001.c
Yadkin Riverkeeper Calls For Alcoa To Explain Opposition To State Fish Consumption Advisory For Badin
Lake
05-06-2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Yadkin Riverkeeper® has announced a call for Alcoa to explain its exact reasoning why
the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NC DENR) should retract a fish consumption advisory the agency
issued for Badin Lake Feb. 11 after finding elevated PCBs in fish caught from the reservoir. The advisory not to eat fish
from Badin Lake applied specifically to pregnant women, nursing women and children under age 15, as PCBs are
probable human carcinogens and are associated with other health risks, including anemia; acne-like skin conditions;
damage to the liver, stomach or thyroid gland; changes in the immune system or reproductive system; and behavioral
problems.
Dean Naujoks, recently appointed as Yadkin Riverkeeper, said Alcoa is appealing the DHHS advisory with weak excuses
in order to avoid focusing attention about how the PCBs could be linked to Alcoa's longtime contamination of the Yadkin
River, where the multinational firm is currently applying for another 50-year license to operate four dams along the river,
known collectively as the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. Badin Lake is one of the reservoirs for the Project that Alcoa has
overseen for decades and is the location of a former smelter Alcoa operated.
"I actually felt the state's test was fairly conservative. If the state had only studied longer-lived fish like Large Mouth Bass
and catfish, we would likely have seen more contaminated fish because of the long-term presence of PCBs entering their
systems." said Naujoks. "The Department of Public Health only studied 30 fish from the lake, and even in that limited
group which included a variety of short-lived fish, officials still found elevated levels of PCBs in one largemouth bass and
three catfish that were greater than the public health level of concern, which resulted in the advisory.
"Now, Alcoa recently claimed that the state found something different in the lake. Its statement read, 'Specifically, the
State has never before issued a fish advisory based on the findings in a single fish with slightly elevated levels, but that's
exactly what it did with largemouth bass in Badin Lake.' No, it did not. It mentioned one bass and three catfish with PCBs
in its official release. (http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/pressrel/2009/2009-2-11-pcbfish.htm) Alcoa knows their public
statement is false and ought to explain why it makes that false claim. More importantly, Alcoa must explain why they
would put the public at risk by potentially delaying state action to raise awareness and prevent at-risk citizens from eating
carcinoginc fish." Meanwhile, hundreds of citizens continue to eat fish every day at Badin Lake with no signs posting the
PCB fish consumption advisories.
"Also, Alcoa wrote that another reason it appealed the advisory was that 'the State changed its stated evaluation criteria
after the study was complete and held Badin Lake to a different standard than other lakes and rivers in North Carolina.'
This is incorrect as well. The state's criteria was the same for when it found PCBs in the Neuse River last year. In other
words, the fish consumption advisory for Badin Lake was very fairly evaluated, and it did not receive special treatment
during its study, as indicated by other waterways in North Carolina having PCB findings."
When he was appointed Yadkin Riverkeeper, Naujoks reviewed reports of existing contamination at Badin Lake, a 5,300-
acre body of water that flows into the river in Stanly County via Narrows Dam. It is one of four reservoirs along a 38-mile
stretch of the Yadkin River that comprise the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. Reports of decades of pollution in the area
associated with a now-defunct smelter Alcoa operated near it, including data that Alcoa discharged such contaminants as
PCBs into the air, land and waterways, prompted Naujoks to investigate other items regarding the firm's activities.
After considerable discussions with all parties involved, Naujoks concluded that Alcoa was a major reason for the
contamination at the lake and the river, and the company insufficiently planned to correct it as part of its license renewal
application for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. Therefore, he opposes its relicensing effort, because his obligations as
Yadkin Riverkeeper involve respecting, protecting, and improving the Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin, and Alcoa's
application fails to meet these goals for the river over the next half-century. The Feb. 11 state fish consumption advisory
confirmed his concerns.
"Alcoa concluded its statement with the following: 'The failure to use consistent evaluation criteria calls into question the
confidence the public will place in fish advisories issued by the State.' What a horribly misleading statement this is," added
Naujoks. "The one with the really dubious record in providing public confidence is Alcoa and its failure to address all
environmental charges of contamination associated with its decades of operating the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project and its
smelter at Badin Lake. Alcoa is now awaiting a decision on a required 401 Water Quality Certification from the N.C.
Division of Water Quality in order to proceed with its federal application for another 50 years of overseeing the Yadkin
Hydroelectric Project. If officials do not like the conditions of the certification - or receive an outright rejection of the
certification - is Alcoa going to whine that it is another state agency that does not know how to do the company's bidding
when it comes to environmental issues?"
Recently on May 1st, 2009, American Rivers, the leading conservation organization standing up for healthy rivers in North
Carolina and nationwide, issued a press release voicing its concern over the documented pollution in North Carolina's
Yadkin River Basin. In the press release, the organization states:
"We are very concerned about the contamination of the Yadkin River basin that has come to light over the past several
months. The fact that the state of North Carolina posted a fish consumption advisory in February for Badin Lake, which
serves as Albemarle's drinking water supply and is a major recreation hotspot, is extremely troubling."
"We anxiously await the results from the State Department of Water Quality's ongoing tests. It is critical that we know the
full scope of the contamination in the river system and that a plan is implemented quickly to clean up pollution and protect
human health. Those parties responsible for any contamination should be identified, and they should be held accountable
for the cleanup."
The full press release issued by American Rivers is now available online at:
httr)://www.americanrivers.ora/newsroom/press-releases/2009/american-rivers-responds-to. html
About American Rivers:
American Rivers is the leading conservation organization standing up for healthy rivers so communities can thrive.
American Rivers protects and restores America's rivers for the benefit of people, wildlife and nature. Founded in 1973,
American Rivers has more than 65,000 members and supporters, with offices in Washington, DC and nationwide. Visit
www. American Rivers. ora
About the Yadkin Riverkeeper®:
The Yadkin Riverkeeper's mission is to respect, protect and improve the Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin through education,
advocacy and action. It is aimed at creating a clean and healthy river that sustains life and is cherished by its people. To
achieve this vision, it seeks to accomplish the following objectives: sustain a RIVERKEEPER® program, measurably
improve water quality, reestablish native bio-diversity, preserve and enhance the forest canopy, bring legal action to
enforce state and federal environmental laws, and teach and practice a "river ethic" of ecological respect to all ages. For
more information, visit http://www.Yadkinriverkeeper.org or call 336-293-8105.
About Dean Naujoks:
Dean Naujoks is the Yadkin Riverkeeper, employed by Yadkin Riverkeeper Inc. since the fall of 2008 to manage and
implement a river advocacy program for the Yadkin Pee Dee River watershed in North Carolina that will keep it a healthy
and vibrant river for residents and businesses in the long term. Yadkin Riverkeeper is a licensed member of the
Waterkeeper Alliance, which connects and supports local Waterkeeper programs to provide a voice and champion clean
water for waterways and their communities worldwide. A longtime water quality advocate, Naujoks became the first Upper
Neuse Riverkeeper in 2001 at the nonprofit Neuse River Foundation. His job there was to monitor conditions and
advocate for protection of the Neuse River from Falls Lake to Goldsboro. He was appointed by Raleigh Mayor Charles
Meeker to serve on the joint government PCB Task Force to address PCB contamination in Crabtree Creek from Ward
Transformer. A graduate of N.C. State, Naujoks created his own major in environmental policy and sustainable
development. He also worked for the NC Wild Life Federation from 1991-1999. Dean Naujoks received American Rivers
2009 National "River Hero" Award.
Susan 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 [e-mail]
E-mail correspondence to and fi•ona this address ma'1; be subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and mciv be disclosed to third parties.