Gov. Perdue Intervenes In Yadkin Hydro ProjectGovernor Cites Failure Of Job Creation, Asks Federal Government To Deny Relicensing To Alcoa Power Generating Inc. In Favor Of State’s Water Rights
By: MMI ASSOCIATES, INC. The governor’s statement is as follows: “The waters of the Yadkin River belong to the people of North Carolina. Fifty years ago, we endorsed Alcoa’s request for a federal license to operate hydroelectric dams on the river because they powered the company’s aluminum smelting works. That facility was a linchpin in the regional economy and created jobs for up to 1,000 North Carolina workers. Today the smelter and the jobs are gone – and so is the reason for the license. I’m asking FERC to enable the recapture of the license so it can be used once again to help create jobs and economic opportunity for the region.” Section 14 of the 1920 Federal Power Act (FPA) clearly reserves to the United States the right to take back a non-publicly owned project upon expiration of its license. The process requires the federal government to reclaim the license from APGI allowing North Carolina to recapture its water rights licensed to Alcoa for the project. Under Section 14, APGI would be entitled to be reimbursed for its net investment, not to exceed fair value, plus any severance damages suffered. APGI’s net investment not exceeding fair value – in other words, the repurchase price for the Project – is estimated at $25 million, as APGI specifically acknowledged in its 2006 relicensing application to the FERC. An official statement from the multinational firm has wildly and inaccurately listed the final cost at $500 million; a figure inflated 1,000 percent from the true estimate. Even today, APGI representatives continue to distort the repurchase price, claiming in the halls of the legislature that it could be as much as $800 million. No matter the price, the repurchase will not cost the taxpayers of North Carolina one penny. Instead, the State of North Carolina or the Yadkin River Trust contemplated by Senate Bill 967 could finance the purchase through the issuance of revenue bonds. These bonds would be paid off through the profits generated by the project. The official motion filed by the state attorney general’s office, which followed Gov. Perdue’s statement, noted that “The licensee is not regulated by the state as a public utility.” Indeed, unlike other utilities such as Duke Energy and Progress Energy, the N.C. Utilities Commission has no regulatory control over the water powering the turbines that APGI operates, the amount APGI charges for the hydropower it sells or even the customers that pay for APGI’s hydropower. APGI can and does sell its hydroelectricity outside the state on the power grid for an enormous profit. Also included in the motion is a statement that “never has so compelling an economic case been presented” supporting the nation’s first recapture of a hydroelectric project. Under APGI’s operations, the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project “now provides only the most minimal public benefits, e.g., payment of taxes, provision of power (albeit for private use and not for the public convenience.)… The Stanly County Commissioners have long held that the best way to provide for the environmental and economic future of the Yadkin River is for the State of North Carolina and its citizens to be the undisputed owner of the Project, particularly in contrast to what Alcoa has provided the state in employment and water quality during its stewardship of the Project since it received its previous 50-year license in 1958. Other groups on record opposing APGI’s relicensing include the N.C. Water Rights Committee, Davidson, Randolph, Iredell, Anson, Cabarrus and Union County Boards of Commissioners, as well as the Centralina Council of Governments. Gov. Perdue is seeking an emergency hearing on her motion. It is not the only obstacle APGI faces as part of its license application with the FERC for another 50 years to operate the Project. The firm first must receive a Water Quality 401 Certification from the N.C. Division of Water Quality, an application which remains under review by the state. Quotes: “We are extremely grateful and appreciative that Gov. Bev Perdue took her time and effort to study this issue and decide to act on behalf of the State of North Carolina,” said Stanly County Commissioner Lindsey Dunevant. “By reinvesting the proceeds from the hydroelectricity generated at the Project back into this region, the state can ensure a better economic and environmental future for all North Carolinians. It is a win for residents of the state, and it compensates APGI according to the method established by the federal government when it created the FERC. It is legal, it is fair, and it is the right thing to do.” Related Links: www.co.stanly.nc.us www.governor.state.nc.us/ About This Effort: In 1958, Alcoa, the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, secured a federal hydroelectric license for the Yadkin Project on the Yadkin River in Stanly, Davidson, Montgomery and Rowan Counties in the Central Piedmont. In return, Alcoa promised aluminum manufacturing jobs for Stanly County for years to come. Alcoa has now disappeared as a major employer in the region and shut down its manufacturing plant, but it wants to continue reaping—for another 50 years-- the benefits of the Yadkin River after its license expired in April of this year. In addition, Alcoa discharged hazardous pollutants into North Carolina air and waterways for decades while harvesting immense profits from the Yadkin River and its smelting operations, but has yet to finish cleaning up that contamination. It has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to obtain another 50-year license. If Alcoa is successful, one of North Carolina’s most valuable water resources will be used to maximize Alcoa’s profits, instead of being used to benefit the people of North Carolina, who should be able to use their own natural resources to assure they enjoy the affordable electricity, local economic development, and clean, adequate drinking water available from alternative ownership of the Yadkin River Project. Patty Briguglio MMI Associates, Inc. (919) 233-6600 patty@mmimarketing.com PR Firms Raleigh, NC (end) # # # MMI Associates, Inc. Patty Briguglio (919) 233-6600 (919) 233-0300 (fax) onlinenews@mmimarketing.com www.mmimarketing.com End
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