Fish advisory should not impact water quality certificate

A lot of folks are wondering if the recent fish advisory issued for Badin Lake will impact APGI's application with the State of North Carolina to receive a Section 401 water quality certificate for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.

It shouldn’t.

The 401 water quality certificate focuses on the quality of water being discharged from our dams.  We are confident that the Yadkin Project will meet all relevant water quality standards.

A recent water test conducted as part of the 401 process has confirmed that no PCBs were detected in the Badin Lake water being discharged from the Badin dam — nor were any other contaminants found. This confirms prior results that have regularly shown that the water quality in Badin Lake is good and in compliance with applicable North Carolina water quality standards.

The N.C. Division of Water Quality has said it will study the source of PCB contamination in Badin Lake, and it should.  But that should not impact the Yadkin Project’s unrelated water quality certificate.