N.C. Division of Water Quality, The World is Watching Your Decision
Attention, members of the N.C. Division of Water Quality and the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR): Your decision of whether Alcoa will receive a 401 Water Quality Certification to operate four dams on the Yadkin River (a/k/a the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project) is being watched and waited around the state, the nation and even the world, not just in Stanly County.
Statewide, coverage of this issue has appeared in all the leading newspapers, including The Charlotte Observer, The Winston-Salem Journal and The News & Observer in Raleigh. TV stations ranging from News 14 in Charlotte to WFMY in Greensboro and WNCT in Greenville have carried news of the controversy over whether Alcoa, if it gets the certification, really will improve the water quality and clean up its pollution at Badin Lake, one of the reservoirs that make up the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project, despite not saying how or even if it will do so.
The coverage has since extended well beyond the borders of North Carolina. Trade publications such as MetalBulletin and United Kingdom-based International Water Power and Dam Construction have included news about the broad-based opposition to Alcoa’s apparent lack of concern in addressing contamination problems associated with its operations in the Project. And press releases from our group, the N.C. Water Rights Coalition, have received international distribution, appearing in Web sites in Austria and Romania, among other locations.
There is viral video on it too. The Yadkin Riverkeeper has posted on YouTube a video on "Badin Lake Pollution" as well as his Web site, www.yadkinriverkeeper.org. The latter site also includes an “Alcoa Worldwide Pollution” Google Map that allows anyone to see location and information on individual sites where Alcoa has faced fines or protests for its activities, with contributions and updates from other Riverkeeper organizations.
In short, everywhere there is attention about this decision. Therefore, the implications from the final decision will be worldwide in scope. That’s definitely a tall order.
The DWQ's mission is to preserve, protect and enhance North Carolina's water and groundwater resources through quality monitoring programs, efficient permitting, responsible management, fair and effective enforcement and excellence in public service. It is our hope that DWQ leaders will keep these words in mind when they make their final decision on the Project and Alcoa's commitment to water quality regarding it. The whole world is watching, and the decision will reveal just how committed the Division is to holding private monopolies to the high standards it has in its mission statement.
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