2008 YEAR IN REVIEW - #3 - Alcoa, Stanly battle over water, power rights

By Jim Lisk, Editor

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 — Back on May 1, 1958, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (APGI) was given a 50-year license to control the dams and waterways along the Yadkin and Pee Dee rivers while providing jobs for the citizens of Stanly County.

As time for re-licensing of Alcoa for another 50 years came close to fruition, the Stanly County Commissioners and a contingent of local citizens challenged Alcoa's right to the water and the profits generated by its power facilities with the huge loss of jobs at Alcoa.

In a March 30 letter to citizens of Stanly County, the local citizens presented "The North Carolina Plan" and called it the best plan for Stanly County, North Carolina and the United States.

The commissioners' plan noted that Alcoa was no longer a major employer in Stanly County and with the loss of jobs, Alcoa had given up control of the water and their right to the profits from power generation.

The commissioners' plan called for the State of North Carolina to purchase the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project as allowed by federal law.

In a statement released on March 30, the commissioners wrote: “It is our duty as local government to put the interest of our citizens’ well being first. In the case of a natural resource that the federal law says belongs to all of us, and in the light of growing public demands for water, we are not ashamed to ask that the water resource be returned to the citizens as the law provides. This is not a novel idea as 33 of the states have public hydro authorities and use these resources to sustain their local economies. It is the intent that the water first be used to the highest public benefit for development of our region, the purchase of manufacturing jobs, lower energy costs for the public and the prosperity of our community and state. This is the mission to which we are presently dedicated."

Then on March 31, approximately 200 citizens from Stanly County marched on Raleigh and voiced their position.

"Let's say to the governor: 'Let's review this, let's make it right for our citizens.' We don’t want to give away our water rights for the next 50 years," said County Commissioner Lindsey Dunevant in Raleigh.

Gov. Mike Easley heard the statement and in turn wrote the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and requested that the re-licensing be for just one year, not 50, while the matter was studied in more detail.

In the ensuing months, both sides presented polls taken by their respective pollsters that showed citizens favoring their respective positions.

Not all government bodies within Stanly County has supported the commissioners. The city of Albemarle has sided with Alcoa and Mayor Elbert "Whit" Whitley issued the following statement: "When FERC started meeting in 2002 concerning the relicensing of APGI, the city of Albemarle was well attended throughout the process.

“The city of Albemarle has been drawing water from the Yadkin River basin since the late 1940s. We have been very fortunate that Alcoa over the years has impounded the water with their dams and we would consider Alcoa to have been good stewards of the water.

“Alcoa has been responsible in part for our well being. They have treated us fairly and continue to do so ... Water for the should be and is my only consideration. Our free enterprise system is great, let it continue to be great."

In a guest column on the matter, Dunevant wanted to see the following questions answered by the study commission:

Should a private corporation that is not a public utility be given a license that yields control of our water?
What is the value of this water resource to the state of North Carolina?
Should the citizens of North Carolina share in the benefit of one of its greatest natural resources, or should that benefit go outside of our state and nation?
Have environmental issues of the past been resolved?

For much of 2008, SNAP readers repeated wrote us with strong opinions on both sides.

But as the overall collapse of the economy hit in the fall of 2008 and the election campaign took center stage, this controversial issue was pushed to the back burner for the moment.

It will again heat up early in 2009 as a decision will come down on who controls our water supply for the next 50 years.

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