“I agree with her 100 percent. It’s refreshing to see an elected official honoring this very legitimate concern,” said Rockingham City Manager Monty Crump of North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue. “I wish some of the same proactive effort could be applied here; it’s obvious that our issues are very similar to what they have upstream.”
In a motion to intervene filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on April 1, Perdue asked for an emergency hearing on the federal agency’s relicensing of Alcoa, Inc.’s hydroelectric dams on the Yadkin River.
The global aluminum manufacturer has recently been implicated as a possible source of PCB pollution in Badin Lake - a matter that is likely to remain under investigation until May by the state’s Division of Water Quality.
Perdue’s recent filing highlights a different black mark against the publicly-traded company: The jobs that its now-defunct smelter once provided to approximately 1,000 North Carolinians - most in Stanly County - are almost entirely gone.
“While the state and the surrounding communities have largely lost their stake in the original (relicensing) arrangement, APGI (Alcoa Power Generating, Inc.) continues to operate the dams and generate and sell power at a significant profit.,” reads the motion. “The state therefore moves to intervene to curtail APGI’s vestigial private control of this segment of the Yadkin River and to rededicate this valuable resource to significant public use.”
The document also recognizes the fact that it is both the Yadkin and the Pee Dee Rivers that form North Carolina’s second largest river basin. Richmond County’s piece of Pee Dee hydroelectric power - Blewett Falls Lake and Dam - is owned by Progress Energy, which received its 50-year FERC license renewal last year.
The city of Rockingham was opposed to the terms of Progress’s relicensing from the beginning, claiming the amount of water that the company releases from the dam is not sufficient for recreational use or the proper protection of aquatic wildlife habitat.
The city filed a lawsuit against Progress Energy and the Division of Water Quality (a subset of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources). According to Crump, the DWC was responsible for overlooking valid concerns raised by the city and giving FERC a green light to re-issue the Blewett License.
Crump said the case got past the point of settlement and will go to court. Involved parties are currently in the deposition phase.
“The city is fighting to get them to put more water in the river so that people can float a jon boat and we can protect our aquatic habitat. It’s that simple,” said Crump. “Obviously the judge thinks we have a case. Progress went to have the claims dismissed, and they weren’t dismissed.”
According to N.C. Senator William Purcell, who represents Anson, Richmond, Scotland and Stanly Counties, the Alcoa intervention and the Progress Energy lawsuit represent two completely separate - and valid - arguments.
“The main issue (in the Alcoa relicense) is water rights. The company has rights to use public water. It produced 1,000 jobs. Now it doesn’t produce any jobs.”
Purcell also explained that the global company could be “bought and sold by anyone.” Which would mean anyone could potentially control Stanly County’s water. He supported Perdue’s intervention.
While Purcell said Thursday that he “usually supports what Rockingham wants,” he had not yet read the lawsuit in its entirety, and would rather do so before making a formal comment on it.
“But I understand,” said Purcell. “It’s a legitimate concern. I’ve been out there at Blewett Falls Lake and gone to the dam. I understand that all above the dam the water’s so low you can’t use it. It’s one foot deep in some places. The lakes above there always seem to have more water.
“It has the potential for being a beautiful lake. It has potential for a lot of recreational uses. And I support that.”
N.C. Representative Melanie Wade Goodwin, who represents Montgomery and Richmond Counties, said Perdue’s efforts are timely and needed.
“The Yadkin-Pee Dee basin is one of the Southeast’s most important river basins, affecting people upstream in Virginia and downstream in South Carolina,” said Goodwin. “That is why Governor Perdue’s recent action carries such broad implications.
“I applaud the Governor for wanting to maximize value and protect our most important natural resource — our river.”
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