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Follow on Google News | Yadkin Riverkeeper Files Brief With FERC Against Alcoa Relicensing for the Yadkin HydroelectricEnvironmental Group Opposes Monopoly’s History of Contamination and Neglect of Water Quality for Humans and the Environment While Overseeing Dam Operations
Dean Naujoks, the Yadkin Riverkeeper, said his motion to relay his opposition to Alcoa’s relicensing with the FERC is independent of an evidentiary filing with the commission made Sept. 11 by Gov. Bev Perdue. However, he supports the governor’s action as another indicator that major concerns exist up through the top levels of state government about Alcoa’s record of poor environmental stewardship for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. “Since I became the Yadkin Riverkeeper a year ago, one constant irritation has been Alcoa’s reluctance and objections toward facing its numerous environmental oversights with the Project while at the same time promising better water quality in the future,” said Naujoks. “If the company is sincere about that, then why has it spent months fighting the installation of signs along Badin Lake warning people not to eat fish there, despite findings of elevated levels of cancer-causing PCBs in a study by the state Department of Health and Human Services? Why is it still appealing that advisory and claiming it is unfair because most other water sources in North Carolina are just as polluted, without any scientific fact to back that assertion? Why has it been silent about a follow-up study released July 27 by water quality expert John H. Rodgers, Jr., Ph.D., that confirmed there is a relationship between the PCBs used at Alcoa’s Badin Works smelter on the Yadkin River and the PCBs found in the fish and sediments in Badin Lake? “Keep in mind that all of this has happened in less than 12 months since I have been on the job. I have heard and read many other reports of contamination in connection with Alcoa’s smelter, which was located on the banks of Badin Lake before it was closed in 2002. It discharged known pollutants such as cyanide, fluoride, solvents, metals, hydrocarbons, benzene, naphthalene and methane into the air, land and water of the surrounding area. Yet Alcoa refuses to take responsibility and say when or even if it will clean up this contamination. Given the threat this pollution poses to the health of the general public and animals now and in the future, Alcoa’s disregard about this issue is appalling and erroneous for a company to hold as it attempts to monopolize control of Yadkin’s hydropower for decades.” Badin Lake is 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. In light of complaints about Alcoa’s environmental record there, several scientific studies have been undertaken over the last year to determine its level of pollutants such as PCBs. PCBs are probable human carcinogens and are associated with other health risks, including anemia; damage to the liver, stomach or thyroid gland; changes in the immune system or reproductive system; and behavioral problems. As Dr. Rodgers’ recent study concluded there was a relationship in Alcoa’s facility being the source of PCBs in Badin Lake, he added that “With more samples and analyses, we could further examine the strength of the relationships apparent in the current data and confirm whether or not there is an ongoing source of PCBs.” In light of this research and reports he has studied, Naujoks opposes Alcoa’s relicensing effort, because his obligations as Yadkin Riverkeeper involve respecting, protecting, and improving the Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin, and the firm’s application fails to meet these goals for the river. He intends to let the FERC know of every environmental violation and Alcoa’s refusal to directly address each of them as a sign that Alcoa is a bad choice to manage the Project in the best interest of the general public’s health and welfare. “I look forward to telling members of the FERC the vast gulf that exists between what Alcoa says it will do for water quality and the environment along the Project versus what the company has actually achieved,” concluded Naujoks. “The discrepancies are jarring, and I believe what I present will force Alcoa to defend its unjustifiable stances, thus revealing how very wrong and disrespectful it would be to the citizens of North Carolina to endure another half-century of environmental exploitation by Alcoa.” About the Yadkin Riverkeeper®: The Yadkin Riverkeeper’ 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. Naujoks has received American Rivers’ 2009 National “River Hero” Award on behalf of his efforts. Media Contact: Dean Naujoks Yadkin Riverkeeper® 2435 Westfield Ave. Winston-Salem, N.C. dean@yadkinriverkeeper.org www.yadkinriverkeeper.org # # # MMI Public Relations Patty Briguglio (919) 233-6600 (919) 233-0300 (fax) onlinenews@mmipublicrelations.com www.mmipublicrelations.com End
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