Stop Alcoa = Save North Carolina Water - Yadkin River is a vital North Carolina Water Resource
Anyone living in North Carolina knows that the entire state is facing drought conditions which are not going away anytime soon. To combat this situation, the state is urging municipalities to consider allocating and transferring water resources to meet the needs of customers.
Yet for one major source of present and future fresh water – the Yadkin River – the state is ready to cede control of it in Stanly County to a private worldwide conglomerate for the next 50 years. And with that move, there will be no possibility that local and state interests can determine the best way – or any way at all – to use the water the Yadkin provides. As a major part of the Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed that covers 93 municipalities in 21 counties, that means the decision will have a substantial impact on the Yadkin’s ability to share water in the areas affected.
Alcoa first built the Narrows Dam at Badin and began using its hydroelectricity to smelt aluminum there in 1918. Since 1958, Alcoa has had a 50-year license to use the public waters of the Yadkin to generate electricity and create nearly 1,000 high-paying jobs for Stanly County residents. Those jobs are now gone. Alcoa smelts aluminum in foreign countries and shut down its smelting operations at Badin in recent years. The sole remaining function of its Stanly operations now is to generate electricity for sale on the grid through Alcoa’s subsidiary, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. Alcoa has now broken the deal it struck with the people 50 years ago, and a new license will enable it to make enormous profits from the clean, green hydropower without sharing any of it with the people of our state. Most importantly, a new license will give control of our water resources for 50 years to this multinational corporation that has been identified in a January 29, 2008, Wall Street Journal article by Dennis K. Berman as a potential takeover target by international mining and mineral interests. It is obvious the setup benefits them the most.
Even so, with Alcoa’s license set to expire on April 30, the firm believes it should receive another 50-year renewal. Should Alcoa’s request win approval, it not only can control the allocation of water from the Yadkin River through the year 2058, but also can sell that right to any third party.
The general welfare of the people of Stanly County, surrounding areas, and the entire state of North Carolina, should have priority over any private interest regarding the Yadkin, particularly in this time of need during our drought. We are not the only ones who believe this – so does the federal government. The Federal Water Power Act of 1920 allows for licensing the best adapted use of the public’s waterways in terms of such beneficial public activities as recreation and irrigation. Clearly, what Alcoa is doing now does not meet the terms of this act.
Robin Craig, a law professor and water expert at Florida State University’s College of Law, told USA Today in its March 18, 2008 edition that the Southeast region “needs to plan for its water usage, that it can’t take for granted that all the water it needs will always be there.” We agree 100 percent with that statement, and in that light, we urge the state to deny the Alcoa relicensing and recapture its water from private corporations as provided by federal law so that the future water needs of North Carolinians can be met.
If you agree, take action now. To help North Carolina recapture its water from this private corporation as provided by federal law, contact your state representatives listed below.
Contact the Governor's Office
Governor Michael F. Easley
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301
(919)733-4240
(919)733-5811
governor.office@ncmail.net
Contact Speaker of the House Joe Hackney
2304 State Legislative Building
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-1096
Phone: (919) 733-3451
Fax: (919) 828-6257
joeh@ncleg.net
Contact Senator Richard Burr
217 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3154
Fax: (202) 228-2981
Email form available at: http://burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Contact Senator Elizabeth Dole
555 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202.224.6342
Fax: 202.224.1100
Email form available at: http://dole.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.ContactFo...
Contact Senator Marc Basnight
North Carolina Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 2007
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
Phone: (919) 733-6854
Marcb@ncleg.net
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Let's talk about this.
I can see the wisdom of not renewing Alcoa's deal, but it seems that having hydroelectric generation is a good idea.
What are the options?
At the very least, any regulatory action should await a broad public review process where everyone gets a chance to be heard.
Speaking of Alcoa and Open Government, as I recall,
two heads rolled at Wildlife Resources for standing up to a fat cat's wish to hand Duke and Alcoa their hydro electric "exclusionary zones" wrapped up in a silver bow.
The governor was in full support of these long-time state employees being given the heave-ho for opposing a powerful political ally~
The papers jumped all over it, but the Duke/Alcoa connection to the "reorganization" at WRC was downplayed fast by the Commission, lest their buddy, David Hoyle, catch some heat.
Most people didn't realize that the effort on Duke and Alcoa's part to secure these "exclusionary zones" was part of their FERC relicensing bid. In any event, because of how badly the dismissal of the director and the attempted firing of his assistant were botched by the not so sharp lawyer and the not so bright chairman of the WRC, the entire rule had to be "tabled" for a couple of months, and then rewritten so that the earlier effort to establish "exclusionary zones" was no where to be found.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing
-Edmund Burke
Yes, water is a precious resource,
but I think statements like this:
are somewhat misleading if not outright disingenuous. It was ALCOA's four (that's right) hydroelectric dam projects that allowed North Carolina to capture so much water in the first place. Without them, we wouldn't even have lakes like Badin, and untold billions of gallons would have flowed right out of the state. The release of water to power the turbines only represents a fraction of the water actually captured by these dams.
And as far as water use is concerned, I'm not sure you should be mentioning:
in a paragraph raising the fear of drought conditions.
Being a former history major, I like to know a little more about events leading up to current issues. This article from 2002 tells a sad story about the birth and death of a town:
Frankly, I'm not sure if there's a "right" and "wrong" side of this debate, but I don't like to be sweettalked by lobbyists or PR firms. It's one of my idiosyncrasies, I guess.
The dams need to operate
it would be stupid on the State's part to turn them off or let them be turned off.
Hydroelectric in my laymen understanding does not harm the water, it just spins the turbines which generates the power. So contamination or loss of water is not a concern. Since 1918 or 1950, the waters have been altered, harnessed etc, so this should not be a concern now?
Allowing ALCOA exclusive rights of the power is inappropriate to the local community. While the turbines, dams, waterways, water sheds are mostly the responsibility of ALCOA to maintain or protect, the locals should receive some of the benefits of those dams.
Building a hydro-electric plant in the Sahara Desert would be foolish it just points out that without the rivers, the dams and the turbines would be pointless.
The river and water belong to the State and the local communities. They have a vested interest to protect that resource. They should have the right to determine how it is utilized at a local level.
I have not seen what the local community or local government is asking for. It would be inappropriate for them to say pull down the dams unless the dams were a danger. It would be inappropriate to say ALCOA you have benefited from 50 years of little to no competition in the region and now it is our turn to realize those benefits.
I can assume I know what ALCOA wants. $$$$$$. I would hope that ALCOA will continue to be a steward for the habitat of the region as compensation for getting the license.
I see a partnership with the local communities splitting the benefits with ALCOA while maintaining this valuable resource (both the water and the electricity the water generates).
So what are both sides asking for?
I wish to ensure that the local governments and local communities always have the responsibility of stewardship over the areas natural recourses and businesses have to come and ask to be included and utilize those resources that belong to the people. Building a dam does not empower or move the responsibility of stewardship from the people.
I'm still trying to figure it out.
It looks like ALCOA is mainly looking to sell the generated power at the best rate they can get. Since there is a shortage of renewable energy available, and several states are requiring part of their energy come from this type of source, it's in demand. Hopefully one day soon it will be so common it will no longer be so pricey, but that will take some time.
As far as what Stanly County wants, I'm not sure. This update from ALCOA (last year) leads me to believe some folks are happy and some aren't:
I can only assume the Stanly County Comissioners wanted something they couldn't get, and are playing their next card. It's out of the backroom now and in the blogosphere, so hopefully we'll be able to find out more soon.
What Stanly County wants
Several of you have asked what Stanly County wants out of this. What Stanly County wants is simple. The county is simply asking for a "time-out." The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has the option of granting a one-year extention to look at this situation as a whole, seeing what action is in the best interests of all North Carolina citizens. Governor Easley has the power to make such a "time-out" a reality. If he speaks out about this situation - which many are hoping he will - the federal government will take notice and look at the situation more closely. Stanly County isn't asking for Dams to be shut down or jobs to taken away. Instead, they are stating that the water belongs to the people, as stated by the Federal Water Act.
A time out seems like the right call
What's the Governor's office saying?
I think an extension + closer look
is a great idea, and I believe in cases where massive expenditures have already been recouped, a fifty-year licensure is no longer appropriate.
But...I still think there's a lot of other relevant factors to consider as far as this subject is concerned:
Unless ALCOA was misrepresenting something, it appears both the city of Albemarle and the town of Badin were satisfied with the settlement agreement but the county was not, and I can't help but assuming the county folks are after more than just a freeze on the licensing. What are we missing? If I have to dig this up, it's going to look a heck of a lot worse than if it's presented properly.
Also, this "belonging to the people" thing is much more complex than you're making it sound. The headwaters and tributaries(sp?) of the Yadkin are in other counties, and the Pee Dee serves folks in another state.
So which people does this water belong to? Specifically? This is an argument that's raging in many other areas, and determining who the "rightful" owners are is far from easy.
A lot of folks in Badin and
A lot of folks in Badin and Albemarle are Alcoa retirees (Badin's Mayor, etc.) with Alcoa pensions and a vested interest in not speaking out against the company. Alcoa owns a substantial amount of property in Badin (more than half the main street for example.) Badin is trying to play nice with the company in exchange for their main street.
To be really honest, this isn't really about Alcoa per se - it could just as easily be any private corporation asking for a monopoly on the water flowing over the dams. It just happens to be Alcoa.
As for the ownership of the water - federal law is quite clear: it belongs to the people of the United States of America. Not just Stanly county or Davidson county or Montgomery county or South Carolina.
As for the settlement agreement, guess what happens when you have a few nonprofit people, a few private lake house owners and some wildlife biologists in a room with a team of Alcoa corporate lawyers? You try it sometime. Tell us how much you can wring out of them.
Here's what was wrung out of them: Some boat landings and canoe portages. (Thanks for the access to our own water, guys.) Some port-a-johns. The 1045 acres has been reduced to 900 or less of probably polluted acres for which they will no longer be liable? The 14 acres of donated property in the settlement agreement was an offer to sell at (Alcoa's) market rate to the town their own land back. Generous! They only backed down and offered to donate the 14 acres after a lot of criticism and in an effort to look even more warm and fuzzy. There is still an offer to sell to the cash-strapped town their own Main Street. Positively magnanimous! And I'm not sure if 900 acres and a few acres in town is worth the conservatively estimated $5 billion in profits Alcoa stands to make (by their own accounting.)
I understand the town's leaders trying to get what they can. What choice do they think they have really? Go up against one of the largest multinational corporations in the world? So is this a good and fair deal? Nope.
5 Billion in profits from the dams????
or is this for all of ALCOA?
If they are getting that kind of money,One, I'm starting a dam!
Two, Stanly County should not have to pay any taxes! as the operations of that county should come from the profits of this dam.
yes, its ALCOAs dam, but that dam cannot function without Stanly County's water. Yes, while it is in the county, it is Stanly County's water. They are responsible for keeping it safe, clean etc etc etc. It is their water.
Another reason politicians should not have vested interests on companies etc. The right decision for the community often means hurting their pocket book or pension. So it boils down to the good of the few outweigh the benefit to the many.
Again, what does this mean?
In the context of legal rights and claims? Are you (or others) forwarding the idea that ALCOA equally share any profits from the sale of energy with the "people"? If so, which people?
I didn't see the $250,000 grant for economic revitalization on your list there. That's the problem with making lists-if you leave something out, people think you did it on purpose and wonder what else is missing.
Please don't misunderstand my motives, okay? I care about the folks there, and I generally mistrust large corporations and utilities. But for me, the most important issue is keeping the power from these plants flowing. That, in itself, serves the people of the United States (as a whole) better than any settlement could.
My fear is that things will get so embroiled with numerous claimants that the sites will be shut down and we'll lose the 215 megawatts of hydro, which represents the equivalent of a whole bunch of wind turbines.
It's an estimated $5 billion
It's an estimated $5 billion over the life of the license, but yes, operating hydroelectric facilities are immensely profitable which is why the licenses are so valuable.
Time Out? After 5 Years
The fact that Stanly County wants to drag out the relicensing process for another year is ridiculous. The relicensing process has been going on for more than FIVE YEARS. There has been more than enough time for FERC to review all of these issues in detail... the problem is that Stanly County simply doesn't like the answers it is getting from FERC. Taking a time-out after studying these issues for five years seems like a waste of time.
There are two key points to remember:
(1) The water is controlled by the federal government, not Alcoa and not the State of North Carolina. The federal government has the final say on how these waters are used and its silly to imply that Alcoa has control over these waters. It must do what FERC tells it to do.
(2) Let's not lose sight of Alcoa's property rights. Alcoa bought thousands of acres of land along the Yadkin River, giving it the right for the "reasonable use" of the water that crosses its property. Alcoa doesn't consume this water... it simply passes through the dams to generate clean, renewable energy. Alcoa pays property taxes on its property (I believe it is the largest taxpayer in Stanly County) and the reservoirs it created have boosted property values throughout the region. We're all in trouble if the State of North Carolina wants to start messing with our property rights.