Public Hearing Scheduled for Tuesday, May 14

The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued the following notice today about a public hearing on our water quality certification request. 

Public hearing scheduled for May 14 on Alcoa water quality certification request

RALEIGH – The N.C. Division of Water Quality will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. May 14 to gather public comments concerning Alcoa Power Generating Inc.’s application for a state water quality certification as required by the federal Clean Water Act and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing process.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, hydropower licensing process works to ensure that projects will minimize damage to the environment through the certification requirements of state water quality agencies.

If the FERC license were approved, it would allow Alcoa to continue operation of the hydroelectric dams at High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows and Falls reservoirs on the Yadkin River. This run of the river crosses Davie, Davidson, Rowan, Montgomery and Stanly counties.

The hearing will begin at 7 p.m. in the Stanly County Commissioners Meeting Room, 1000 North First St., Albemarle. Speaker registration and sign-in will begin at 6 p.m.

The purpose of the hearing is to allow the public to comment on the company’s application submitted in September 2012 and additional information submitted thereafter. The application and supporting documents can be found online at: http://its.enr.state.nc.us/Weblink8/Browse.aspx?startid=169386.

The application may also be inspected at the DWQ central offices in the Archdale Building, 512 North Salisbury St., Raleigh, N.C. 27604. To schedule an appointment to review the file, please contact Karen Higgins atkaren.higgins@ncdenr.gov or 919-807-6360.

The public is invited to comment on the application by speaking at the hearing, by submitting written comments at the hearing or by mailing them to the division. Please send comments to Karen Higgins at the above email address or to: Karen Higgins, DWQ, 1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1650. The comment period ends at 5 p.m. June 13.

Stanly County business leader speaks out in support of Alcoa

A respected Stanly County business leader is speaking out in support of Alcoa's effort to recruit new jobs to Stanly County and obtain a new federal license for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.

Dick Storm, CEO of Storm Technologies in Albemarle, sent a letter to Inside Stanly and the Stanly News and Press outlining why he supports Alcoa.

He highlights the high unemployment rate in Stanly County and the availability of the Badin site as the best industrial site in the region.  "Alcoa is sincerely trying to rejuvenate industry in Badin," Storm writes. "If they are not able to relicense the Hydropower facilities, not only does Stanly County appear 'Anti-Industry' but no one else is better equipped to provide economic development."


The 450 high-paying jobs that Clean Tech Silicon & Bar will bring to Badin if an agreement can be reached could transform Stanly County."Most important to me, the Citizens of our County will be able to improve their incomes and employment opportunities," Storm says.

Click here to read a full copy of his letter.

Mayor says greed spurs Alcoa fight

The Charlotte Observer published an article today that highlights arguments made by Mayor Whit Whitley of Albemarle in a letter to N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue regarding the Yadkin Project relicensing. Reporter Bruce Henderson reports that Mayor Whitley is disturbed that Stanly County Commissioners have spent nearly $1 million of taxpayer money on lawyers and PR firms to fight Alcoa, claiming they are “motivated by greed.”

You can view the entire article below:

The Charlotte Observer, March 4, 2009

Mayor says greed spurs Alcoa fight

By Bruce Henderson

The nearly $1 million Stanly County has spent to fight renewal of Alcoa's Yadkin River hydroelectric license is "motivated by greed," says the mayor of the county seat, Albemarle.

The county is aggressively lobbying to reclaim the federal license, which Alcoa has held for more than 50 years, and place it in public hands. Alcoa's aluminum works, once Stanly's largest employer, has closed and its hydro power is sold on the open market.

This week Albemarle Mayor Elbert Whitley Jr. wrote Gov. Bev Perdue, who has expressed personal misgivings about renewing Alcoa's license, to defend the company.

Whitley questioned the county's spending $965,000 over three years on lawyers and public relations experts to make its case.

“Why is this issue even on the table?” Whitley wrote. “The only true consideration is greed, and I am appalled that the state of North Carolina is buying into this type of thinking.”

Whitley, a Democrat, charged in an interview that the Republican-majority county commissioners want Alcoa's millions of dollars in hydro revenue and thousands of acres it owns around the four Yadkin reservoirs.

If the commissioners win, he predicted, new industries that use natural resources will be afraid to locate in Stanly.

County manager Andy Lucas suspects Whitley also has a financial motive.

Alcoa's proposed license terms allow Albemarle to draw up to 11 million gallons of water a day from the company's reservoirs without charge.

“They've been given a financial incentive to go along with Alcoa on this,” he said.

“We believe we need to protect the water and that's why we've spent nearly $1 million on this. We think it's an investment in our future to protect that resource and keep jobs in this region.”

Stanly is paying law firms in Raleigh and Washington, D.C., as well as a Raleigh public relations firm to make its case. Lucas said he doesn't know what future costs may total. The county has a $60 million annual budget.

If the county gets what it wants, Lucas said, its expenses will be repaid “many times over.”