Alcoa to fight NC lawsuit re: riverbed ownership

We received some disappointing news today: The NC Department of Administration today filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that the navigable portions of the Yadkin River bed are the property of the State of North Carolina. 

As a result of this lawsuit, we have learned that the NC Division of Water Resources has denied our application for a 401 water quality certificate.  

We believe this filing -- and the related decision to deny our 401 -- is flat-out wrong. Ownership of submerged lands is a question of federal law and we will immediately begin the legal process to move it to federal court. This ownership has already been decided by the US Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision in 2012 (Montana PPL v Montana). APGI is confident in its ownership position and that it will be firmly established in court. 

Despite making ourselves available to the Governor, we are disappointed that we didn't have the opportunity to discuss this with him before this suit was filed.

We remain committed to pursuing a new license for the Yadkin Project. However, it looks like we can expect additional delays and court challenges in the months ahead.

We will continue to update you on this issue as new developments arise.