N.C. Water Rights Coalition Protests DENR’s Certification For Alcoa On The Yadkin Hydro ProjectGroup Claims State Agency Failed To Account For Studies And Testimony Documenting Poor Environmental Stewardship By Alcoa On Project
By: MMI Associates, Inc. - The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services ordered a fish consumption advisory Feb. 11 after finding elevated levels of PCBs in Badin Lake, one of the four reservoirs that along with hydropower stations and dams make up the Project along a 38-mile stretch of the Yadkin River. Specifically, the DHHS recommended that children under 15, women of childbearing age, and women who are pregnant or nursing should not eat any largemouth bass or catfish from Badin Lake because of susceptibility to multiple health problems and the belief that PCBs cause cancer. The DHHS recommends that all others consume the fish from Badin Lake no more than once per week. - Dr. John H. Rodgers Jr., an environmental toxicologist with Clemson University, has documented research showing numerous ongoing water quality violations at the Project and urged further analysis of additional studies on fish and toxic contamination in the river. He urged denial of the application at a public hearing in January. - The DWQ knows about sediment contamination in Badin Lake. This sedimentation from the dams has caused occasional flooding and water quality problems, as indicated by reports and public testimonials. If Alcoa wants to control the “project as a whole” by receiving a FERC license, shouldn’t it be required to be a steward of all water quality and environmental issues in the “project as a whole”? Of course it should. - Fish in the Yadkin River have shrunk in size over the years due to contamination and dissolved oxygen levels. As with sedimentation, reports and public comments back up this statement. The DWQ ignored these facts and others complaining of Alcoa’s poor environmental stewardship in favor of awarding the water quality certificate to the multinational company. While the DWQ included conditions upon Alcoa’s certification, some of those conditions are for actions that Alcoa promised it would perform 10 years ago but still has not begun. Other conditions will be reviewed years in the future, a time during which Alcoa will continue to cause damage to the Yadkin River Basin. The certificate was necessary in order for Alcoa to proceed with its application to receive a new 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to control, govern and sustain ownership of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project, a license it received from the commission in 1957. Due to failure of printing a public notice for the original review period in 2007, The DWQ originally issued a water quality certificate for Alcoa in November 2007, but failure to print a public notice of the original review resulted in a delay until May 2008. That decision in turn was delayed when Alcoa withdrew its original certification application for a revised one, resulting in a year of additional public hearings and comments. While the FERC reviews Alcoa’s relicensing application, it also must take into consideration a request by North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue to recapture its water rights for this project and deny Alcoa the license in favor of letting Congress allow the state to establish a Yadkin River Trust to oversee the Project instead. Under the law, the FERC can recommend recapture by the Federal Government of the Project license to Congress, for subsequent transfer to the State of North Carolina. If the FERC makes such a recommendation to Congress, then Congress has two years to pass legislation that would enable the US Government to recapture the Project upon payment of net investment (and severance damages) and can simultaneously provide in the law that the FERC be required to issue a license to the State of North Carolina, subject to payment of such net investment to the US Government. The Trust already has received approval from the N.C. Senate, and should the N.C. House of Representatives pass the bill in favor of its creation as well, it is expected Gov. Bev Perdue will sign it into law, continuing her expressed opposition to Alcoa receiving another 50-year license for the Project. The N.C. Water Rights Coalition favors establishment of the Yadkin River Trust, as it believes that the state can and will perform a better job of cleaning up the contamination that already exists in the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project than Alcoa, as well as improving that water for the benefit of everyone using it. Quotes: “It is inconceivable to me how the Division of Water Quality approved this certificate for a company in charge of a reservoir where the water’s PCBs levels are so high that children and pregnant women are advised not to eat fish from it,” said Nancy McFarlane, president of the N.C. Water Rights Coalition. “This is a disturbing precedent to set, and I cannot believe that the DWQ truly thinks this is the right decision after receiving an overwhelming majority of negative comments against Alcoa’s environmental record from scientific experts, fishermen and nearby property owners. We at the N.C. Water Rights Coalition protest this decision strongly, and we will continue to fight for what it is right and best for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project as it moves to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a decision there.” Related Links: www.ncwaterrights.org About the N.C. Water Rights Coalition: The N.C. Water Rights Coalition is a coalition of North Carolina businesses and concerned citizens who have joined this statewide effort to work on recapturing our water rights in regard to the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project and using the Yadkin waters for the benefit of the people rather than a monopoly. For more information, visit www.ncwaterrights.org. Keywords: MMI Associates, Inc., Public Relations, N.C. Water Rights Committee, Water Rights, North Carolina Water Resources, Water Policy, NCDENR, Department of Environment and National Resource Division of Water Quality, EPA, DWQ, Water Quality Act 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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