Stop Alcoa = Save North Carolina Water - Yadkin River is a vital North Carolina Water Resource

I can see the wisdom of not renewing Alcoa's deal, but it seems that having hydroelectric generation is a good idea.

What are the options?

At the very least, any regulatory action should await a broad public review process where everyone gets a chance to be heard.

but I think statements like this:

we urge the state to deny the Alcoa relicensing and recapture its water from private corporations as provided by federal law so that the future water needs of North Carolinians can be met.

are somewhat misleading if not outright disingenuous. It was ALCOA's four (that's right) hydroelectric dam projects that allowed North Carolina to capture so much water in the first place. Without them, we wouldn't even have lakes like Badin, and untold billions of gallons would have flowed right out of the state. The release of water to power the turbines only represents a fraction of the water actually captured by these dams.

And as far as water use is concerned, I'm not sure you should be mentioning:

such beneficial public activities as recreation and irrigation.

in a paragraph raising the fear of drought conditions.

Being a former history major, I like to know a little more about events leading up to current issues. This article from 2002 tells a sad story about the birth and death of a town:

The company, now Alcoa, finished the first dam and the plant, which opened in 1917 and soon employed about 1,000 workers. Along the river, it would add three more dams and, in the town, churches, schools, offices, shops, the opera house and the hospital. Alcoa even provided the police.

"At one time, Alcoa looked after everything here," says the brawny, tanned retiree, who spent nearly 30 years at Alcoa Inc.'s Badin Works. "They owned the streets, the sidewalks, the sewer system, everything." Alcoa built Badin's school and its long-gone opera house. It built the hospital, which now serves as an Alcoa conference center, and hilltop quarters for engineers that is now part of Stanly County Country Club. One of its dams on the Yadkin River created Badin Lake.

Consider the pamphlet written by historian Glass with help from the mayor and the Stanly County Historic Preservation Commission. The section on Badin's recent history ends this way: "Its population is decreasing, and its commercial base has almost vanished. The growing concern among residents and those who love the little community is that 'the city by the lake' could revert once again to wilderness."

Frankly, I'm not sure if there's a "right" and "wrong" side of this debate, but I don't like to be sweettalked by lobbyists or PR firms. It's one of my idiosyncrasies, I guess.

it would be stupid on the State's part to turn them off or let them be turned off.

Hydroelectric in my laymen understanding does not harm the water, it just spins the turbines which generates the power. So contamination or loss of water is not a concern. Since 1918 or 1950, the waters have been altered, harnessed etc, so this should not be a concern now?

Allowing ALCOA exclusive rights of the power is inappropriate to the local community. While the turbines, dams, waterways, water sheds are mostly the responsibility of ALCOA to maintain or protect, the locals should receive some of the benefits of those dams.

Building a hydro-electric plant in the Sahara Desert would be foolish it just points out that without the rivers, the dams and the turbines would be pointless.

The river and water belong to the State and the local communities. They have a vested interest to protect that resource. They should have the right to determine how it is utilized at a local level.

I have not seen what the local community or local government is asking for. It would be inappropriate for them to say pull down the dams unless the dams were a danger. It would be inappropriate to say ALCOA you have benefited from 50 years of little to no competition in the region and now it is our turn to realize those benefits.

I can assume I know what ALCOA wants. $$$$$$. I would hope that ALCOA will continue to be a steward for the habitat of the region as compensation for getting the license.

I see a partnership with the local communities splitting the benefits with ALCOA while maintaining this valuable resource (both the water and the electricity the water generates).

So what are both sides asking for?

I wish to ensure that the local governments and local communities always have the responsibility of stewardship over the areas natural recourses and businesses have to come and ask to be included and utilize those resources that belong to the people. Building a dam does not empower or move the responsibility of stewardship from the people.

Several of you have asked what Stanly County wants out of this. What Stanly County wants is simple. The county is simply asking for a "time-out." The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has the option of granting a one-year extention to look at this situation as a whole, seeing what action is in the best interests of all North Carolina citizens. Governor Easley has the power to make such a "time-out" a reality. If he speaks out about this situation - which many are hoping he will - the federal government will take notice and look at the situation more closely. Stanly County isn't asking for Dams to be shut down or jobs to taken away. Instead, they are stating that the water belongs to the people, as stated by the Federal Water Act.

It's an estimated $5 billion over the life of the license, but yes, operating hydroelectric facilities are immensely profitable which is why the licenses are so valuable.

The fact that Stanly County wants to drag out the relicensing process for another year is ridiculous. The relicensing process has been going on for more than FIVE YEARS. There has been more than enough time for FERC to review all of these issues in detail... the problem is that Stanly County simply doesn't like the answers it is getting from FERC. Taking a time-out after studying these issues for five years seems like a waste of time.

There are two key points to remember:

(1) The water is controlled by the federal government, not Alcoa and not the State of North Carolina. The federal government has the final say on how these waters are used and its silly to imply that Alcoa has control over these waters. It must do what FERC tells it to do.

(2) Let's not lose sight of Alcoa's property rights. Alcoa bought thousands of acres of land along the Yadkin River, giving it the right for the "reasonable use" of the water that crosses its property. Alcoa doesn't consume this water... it simply passes through the dams to generate clean, renewable energy. Alcoa pays property taxes on its property (I believe it is the largest taxpayer in Stanly County) and the reservoirs it created have boosted property values throughout the region. We're all in trouble if the State of North Carolina wants to start messing with our property rights.