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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Stanly County has made a number of claims against Alcoa and APGI during the course of the relicensing of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. Below is a list of some of those claims, and facts that dispute those claims.
STANLY COUNTY CLAIM #1: “Today, Alcoa has essentially disappeared as a major employer and provider of jobs in Stanly County, but wants to keep the benefits of this public resource solely for itself and its shareholders.”
ALCOA FACT: APGI and Alcoa employs 31 people in the county (plus an additional 80+ contractors) and have an economic impact on the county of more than $8 million per year. The companies are the single largest taxpayer in Stanly County with annual property taxes of more than $500,000. Most counties in North Carolina would welcome those jobs and that kind of economic impact to their county.
Stanly County leaders should recognize the tremendous economic value of the reservoirs created by the Yadkin Project. The lakes support many local businesses (marinas, fishing guides, etc.) and property taxes around the lakes are significantly higher than other parts of the county. In addition, the lakes attract high-profile events such as the ESPN Bassmasters Tournament and serve as a destination for tourists who enjoy fishing, hiking and camping – the kind of recreational pastimes that local communities have been championing for years.
The proposed donation of more than 1,000 acres for the expansion of Morrow Mountain State Park will provide another tourism boost to the local economy and support North Carolina’s land conservation efforts.
All those benefits exist because Alcoa bought the land and made the investment to build and maintain the dams and reservoirs.
STANLY COUNTY CLAIM #2: “Alcoa has refused to discuss or address Stanly County’s concerns which have direct environmental and economic impacts on the citizens and must be addressed by our elected officials.”
ALCOA FACT: Alcoa and APGI have repeatedly discussed both economic and environmental issues with Stanly County Commissioners. One of Alcoa’s global remediation experts made a presentation to Stanly County Commissioners in February 2007 regarding environmental issues in Stanly County, joint meetings with state officials from the Dept. of Natural Resources have been held, and county officials have been provided written documentation regarding the environmental issues being questioned.
These issues are regularly addressed with Alcoa’s Community Advisory Board in Stanly County. Tony Dennis, chairman of the Stanly County Commissioners, and Jerry Myers, County Manager, are members of this group.
STANLY COUNTY CLAIM #3: “The State of North Carolina should request the federal government to exercise an option, available under federal law, to purchase the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.”
ALCOA FACT: In a Draft Environmental Impact Statement released in September 2007, FERC staff stated: “We do not consider federal takeover to be a reasonable alternative for the Projects. Federal takeover of the Projects would require Congressional approval. While that fact alone would not preclude further consideration of this alternative, there is currently no evidence showing that a federal takeover should be recommended to Congress. No federal agency has suggested that federal takeover would be appropriate, and no federal agency has expressed an interest in operating the Projects.”
In addition, FERC regulations would have required action by a federal agency by June 2006, a deadline that passed nearly two years ago.
STANLY COUNTY CLAIM #4: “Ownership would enable the State to better control the flows of the Yadkin River in the interest of the public and the citizens of North Carolina.”
ALCOA FACT: No matter who owns the Yadkin Project — APGI, the State of North Carolina, or someone else — it must be operated under the same set of federal and state laws that require a balance among the many interests in the Yadkin watershed.
STANLY COUNTY CLAIM #5: “Presently, the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project creates $40 million in gross annual revenues now, with annual costs of only about $2.5 million. New enhancements under the relicensing may add another $1.5 million to that cost, with a one-time cost of approximately $4 million, leaving a substantial profit to the holder of a new fifty-year Project License.”
ALCOA FACT: As cited in our 2006 license application and Relicensing Settlement Agreement, the Yadkin Project’s annual average revenues are approximately $43.6 million. After expenses and depreciation ($28.3 million), taxes ($5.3 million) and relicensing enhancements ($1.6 million), the net profits are approximately $8.4 million per year. One element the county has failed to consider is the $200+ million that APGI plans to invest in refurbishing the dams over the next decade.
STANLY COUNTY CLAIM #6: “If the State owned and operated the Yadkin Project, it becomes a major player in assuring the use of the River for the public interest. Otherwise, the State ceases to be a major influence in the Yadkin Project after relicensing is done.”
ALCOA FACT: The State of North Carolina will continue to have an active, regulatory role in the Yadkin watershed after relicensing. It holds regulating authority for issuing water withdrawal permits, oversees water quality, monitors habitat protection through the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and is a member of the Drought Protocol team that is instituted when drought conditions exist to ensure water resources in the state are protected during drought. To claim the State of North Carolina has no say in the operation of the Yadkin Project is not true.
STANLY COUNTY CLAIM #7: “Alcoa has yet to complete the cleanup of ninety years of smelting operations that have left Stanly County with hazardous wastes and an unknown amount of future public health concerns. Alcoa can sell the Yadkin Project to any third party, with no certainty that the clean up of these wastes will occur and with little control by the State over the pace of clean up. Ownership of a resource that generates tens of millions of dollars per year would enable the State to expedite the cleanup and better assist the affected counties to provide both economically and socially for their citizens.”
ALCOA FACT: Alcoa and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources have been working together for more than 20 years to address waste sites on its property in Stanly County through implementation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), a federal program adopted by the State of North Carolina that regulates the management of waste.
Through the RCRA process, six sites were identified that required remediation. Alcoa has spent more than $8 million to provide appropriate environmental protection at these sites and the State has determined that no further action is necessary at this time. Alcoa is completing a Corrective Measures Study (CMS) as the next phase of the RCRA process that will determine what additional measures or ongoing monitoring is needed.
Those environmental remediation standards impose obligations and liabilities on Alcoa for the environmental conditions at the sites, and that liability is continuing and will continue. Whether the plant is operating — or whether Alcoa continues to own the plant — is irrelevant to Alcoa’s continuing liability for the sites under those standards.
STANLY COUNTY CLAIM #8: “If Alcoa receives federal approval for its relicensing, it will gain exclusive control of use of the public waters of the Yadkin in Stanly County through the year 2058 for a hydroelectric plant.”
ALCOA FACT: Patently untrue. Stanly County makes it sound as if APGI will have the ability to do whatever it wants on the Yadkin River for the next 50 years. During the term of the new license (likely between 30 and 50 years), APGI must follow the rules and regulations dictated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and by the State of North Carolina. Many provisions of the new license will come from the Relicensing Settlement Agreement that was developed and supported by stakeholders across North Carolina, including North Carolina state agencies. The 23 organizations that helped craft the relicensing agreement have greatly influenced how the Yadkin Project will be operated with regard to everything from reservoir water levels and water quality to environmental protection and land conservation.
Rights to water are determined by state law mostly, and federal law to a very limited extent. Since the early 1980s there has been a standard requirement in all new FERC licenses that additional withdrawals of 1 million gallons per day or more will require FERC approval. However, modern licenses are designed for FERC to make these kinds of decisions throughout the term of the license upon application and demonstration that all state law permits and approvals are obtained.
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