Stanly County Board of Commissioners Endorse New State Trust Concept

STANLY COUNTY, N.C. - The Stanly County Board of Commissioners has announced its formal endorsement of the new State Trust Concept, a document released by the N.C. Water Rights Committee (www.ncwaterrights.org), as a better option for the management and ownership of North Carolina's Yadkin Hydroelectric Project as compared to previous proposals submitted by Alcoa. The board endorsed the document with unanimous support at its January 5 meeting in Stanly County.

Alcoa has applied for a 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that would allow the multinational firm a monopoly on hydroelectric power on the county's portion of the Yadkin River. The N.C. Water Rights Committee calls for establishing a Trust with respect to owning and managing the Project on behalf of the state's residents. In return, it would provide the state with multiple advantages connected to the Project that Alcoa has not promised in its application.

Alcoa has been operating the four dams that make up the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project for decades, having received a previous license for the Project from the FERC in 1958. Stanly County Commissioners oppose the application because it does not address the environmental hazards associated with Alcoa's dam operations and its now-closed smelter at Badin Lake. The commissioners also believe Alcoa will generate tens of millions of dollars in profit from hydroelectricity generated by the dams and sold on the power grid while at the same time provide relatively little economic benefit to the Yadkin River Basin and the State of North Carolina as a whole.

In contrast, the State Trust Concept proposes the following actions will take place if enacted:

- Priority consideration to local needs, with the intent of restoring and improving the environmental and economic considerations in and around the Yadkin River.

- Authorization by the State to delegate the licensing, operations, and management on a daily basis of the Project to a utility or utilities subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the State and consistent with the purposes of the Trust.

- Power generated from the Project will be used for the benefit of the electricity consumers of North Carolina, not a multinational company answerable to no one in North Carolina.

- All Alcoa properties in Stanly County will be tested for public health purposes.

- Contamination at the former Badin Works smelter will be cleaned up over and above the minimum levels that Alcoa is required to perform under current law; the objective would clearly be to restore the land and/or water to multiple use purposes.

- A remediation fund will be established to perform necessary testing and remediation of hazardous waste sites in the Yadkin River Basin.

- The Trust will apportion a percentage of electricity from the Yadkin Project output for use by a newly established Regional Economic Development Entity; to the extent that there are green credits flowing from such output, such credits shall belong to the Regional Economic Development Entity.

- The Trust will use a portion of the proceeds from power generation to create a Yadkin River Basin Clean Water Trust Fund to acquire land for water quality improvements, innovative storm water strategies, state of the art waste water improvements and aquatic habitat improvements.

- The Trust will use a portion of the proceeds from power generation to acquire additional land for conservation purposes.

- The Trust will be able to provide funding mechanisms with a focus on assisting local governments to make water quality improvements throughout the Yadkin River Basin.

The Trust also will honor most aspects of the Relicensing Settlement Agreement negotiated by public and private entities such as Alcoa in 2008, including a comprehensive drought management plan (the "Low Inflow Protocol"), water quality improvements for the Yadkin, and new and expanded public recreation facilities. The Trust will meet these goals after it is established through the FERC's current relicensing process and other available legal means.

Given all the improved assistance the Trust will provide to the State of North Carolina in comparison to Alcoa's promises, Stanly County Commissioners are urging members of the FERC as well as of the state's Environmental Review Commission currently studying the impacts of Alcoa's license application to consider the Trust as a viable option for the future of the Project.

The full text of the State Trust Concept can be accessed at the N.C. Water Rights Web site at www.ncwaterrights.org/Info/Info005.aspx.

Quotes:
"The State Trust Concept boldly articulates what we believe is an excellent vision for the future of the Yadkin River," said Stanly County Commissioner Lindsey Dunevant. "It provides more for our children and grandchildren than what Alcoa has proposed in its relicensing application. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should consider what the Trust proposes versus what Alcoa offers and see which is more relevant in meeting the FERC's mission of regulating and overseeing energy industries in the economic, environmental, and safety interests of the American public, especially over the long term. We trust members of the Environmental Review Commission will do the same."

Related Links:
www.co.stanly.nc.us
www.ncwaterrights.org
www.salisburypost.com/Area/010609-riverkeeper-on-alcoa-
www.mmimarketing.com/blog/c=Yadkin-Hydroelectric-Project

About This Effort:
In 1958, Alcoa, the world's leading producer of primary aluminum, secured a federal hydroelectric license for the Yadkin Project on the Yadkin River in Stanly, Davidson, Montgomery and Rowan Counties in the Central Piedmont. In return, Alcoa promised aluminum manufacturing jobs for Stanly County for years to come. Alcoa has now disappeared as a major employer in the region and shut down its manufacturing plant, but it wants to continue reaping-for another 50 years-- the benefits of the Yadkin River after its license expired in April of this year. In addition, Alcoa discharged hazardous pollutants into North Carolina air and waterways for decades while harvesting immense profits from the Yadkin River and its smelting operations, but has yet to finish cleaning up that contamination. It has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to obtain another 50-year license. If Alcoa is successful, one of North Carolina's most valuable water resources will be used to maximize Alcoa's profits, instead of being used to benefit the people of North Carolina, who should be able to use their own natural resources to assure they enjoy the affordable electricity, local economic development, and clean, adequate drinking water available from alternative ownership of the Yadkin River Project.

Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC

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