Play it Safe on the Lakes

I hope everyone enjoys the Memorial Day weekend. If you planning to enjoy the lakes, please remember to "play it safe." 

Alcoa Power Generating teamed up with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and local law enforcement officials in Davidson, Montgomery, Rowan and Stanly counties earlier this week to promote the importance of water safety.

Alcoa and the local law enforcement community have been preaching the benefits of wearing a life jacket for years. This year, Alcoa went a step further and hosted a series of water safety events last weekend at High Rock and Badin Lakes. We distributed more than 200 free life jackets to children.

We will provide local law enforcement officers with additional life jackets to distribute to boaters who are not carrying an adequate number of floatation devices. 

Davidson County Sheriff David Grice, Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten and Stanly County Sheriff Rick Burris thanked Alcoa for working with law enforcement agencies to educate the public about water safety. Alcoa provides $90,000 a year to local law enforcement to fund increased patrols of the lakes.

Watch news coverage from WGHP, WFMY, News 14 

Read coverage from the Salisbury Post and Stanly News & Press.

200 New Jobs Coming to Former Alcoa Site

It was a special week in Stanly County. Electronic Recyclers International, the world's largest recycler of electronic waste, announced Monday that it is bringing up to 200 new jobs to the area. The California-based company is opening a regional recycling hub in the Badin Business Park, the site of the former Alcoa smelter.

 

ERI Chairman and CEO John Shegerian provides a "Green is Good" t-shirt to 

State Representative Justin Burr during a press conference in Badin on Monday. 

"We're going to help recycle this plant, recycle that building right there and we're going to help recycle the community and bring brand new jobs," said ERI chairman and CEO John Shegarian.  Shegerian made the announcement before a crowd of 100 community leaders and local officials, including U.S. Congressman Larry Kissell, State Sen. Bill Purcell, State Rep. Justin Burr, Stanly County Commissioner Josh Morton, Badin Mayor Jim Harrison and Albemarle Mayor Whit Whitley. 

 

Alcoa is investing more than $10 million to redevelop the former plant site and continues to actively recruit businesses to the Badin site.

 

"We have an obligation to make sure that this site is redeveloped," said Kevin Anton, Alcoa's chief sustainability officer.

 

Read the press release.

Read the Salisbury Post editorial, Generating jobs in Badin

Read the AP article, Recycling company adding 200 jobs in Stanly County

Investing in Badin Redevelopment

Earlier this week, Alcoa announced that it has awarded more than $7.2 million in contracts associated with the redevelopment of its former plant site in Badin. Much of the work was awarded to North Carolina businesses, including Stewart Engineering Inc. (Charlotte), Apex Engineering (Concord), REI Engineers (Charlotte) and Western Waterproofing Company (Charlotte). Additional contracts will be awarded later this year as work progresses.

The redevelopment of the Badin site -- which includes partial building demolition and restoration of some current structures -- is designed to make the site more appealing to new companies. 

Kevin Anton, Alcoa’s Chief Sustainability Officer, has been leading our efforts to recruit new businesses to the site. 

“We are very excited to get the redevelopment of the Badin site under way. This is a significant investment by Alcoa, and a big step toward bringing new jobs to Badin,” he said. “Over the last three or four months, we’ve marketed the location to many companies who may have an interest in locating here. We are excited about what redevelopment will mean to the community, and the new construction and permanent jobs it will bring.”

Alcoa has led the recruiting effort and is also working with local and state economic development officials to attract new employers to Badin. 

Redevelopment work is currently under way, and a majority of the site improvements are expected to be complete by the end of 2011.

Click here to read the press release.

Salisbury Post: Eagles settle in at High Rock

The Salisbury Post ran a story today (Eagles settle in at High Rock, by Karissa Minn) highlighting APGI's efforts to carefully cultivate bald eagle habitats at the Yadkin Project. 

A record number of bald eagle nests were spotted during an aerial survey conducted in March. The survey found seven active nests at the Yadkin Project — three at High Rock Lake, two at Tuckertown and one each at Falls and Badin Lake — the largest number of active nests since APGI began conducting annual surveys in 2001.  

During the past 10 years, 19 different bald eagle nests have been identified along the reservoirs, producing nearly 50 chicks. That is a testament to the type of environment and natural habitat that exists around the Yadkin Project.

Marshall Olson, APGI's environmental and natural resources manager, has made a concerted effort to manage the property around the reservoirs in a responsible way that attracts and protects bald eagles and other wildlife.  

Click here to read the complete Salisbury Post article and see more photos from Jon C. Lakey.

New legislative proposals target Alcoa

I wanted to let you know that three bills have recently been introduced in the NC General Assembly that are directly targeted at Alcoa.  Those bills, introduced by Sen. Fletcher Hartsell and Sen. Stan Bingham, include:

Senate Bill 628: This bill would make fundamental changes in how water quality permits and certificates are currently processed and granted.  First and foremost, it would require the Division of Water Quality to conduct an environmental compliance review for every applicant. This change would impose additional costs and burdens on both DWQ and applicants for water quality permits and certificates.

In addition, the proposed legislation would change the standards under which new and renewed water quality permits and certificates are evaluated for past compliance. The bill would require the Environmental Management Commission to deny a water quality permit or certificate if information that is material to a permitting or certification determination is intentionally withheld, or if a false statement, representation, or certification is knowingly made in an application for a permit or certification or in any data, plan, or other document submitted in support of an application for a permit or certification. Intentionally withholding or omitting information that is material to a permitting or certification determination would be punishable by a new Class 2 misdemeanor.

Senate Bill 629: This bill imposes an annual 6% privilege tax on the gross taxable receipts of an unregulated company that sells electricity or water. (Companies with revenues below $6 million a year are generally excluded.). By unregulated, it appears to mean utilities whose rates are not regulated by the N.C. Utilities Commission.     

Senate Bill 626: This bill calls for a legislative study surrounding the progress of cleanup efforts at Alcoa's former Badin Works smelter in Stanly County, and the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ handling of contamination at the site. Results would be submitted to the Environmental Review Commission and the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee by February 1, 2012.

We are following these bills closely and will continue to keep you updated about the status of these bills as the legislative session moves forward.