WInston-Salem Journal
journalnow.com
April 11, 2009
Taking a stance
By Steve Scroggin
Cheers to Gov. Bev Perdue for taking a stance that may save us taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year. She's fighting an application from Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. to run four hydroelectric dams along the Yadkin River, as reported in the April 2 Journal ("Perdue opposes new license for Alcoa"). Fifty years ago, Alcoa received a license to use Yadkin River water and to run the dams. That operating license was issued on behalf of the people of the Yadkin River basin and North Carolina and that license has finally expired. Alcoa is in the position of a tenant holding over after expiration of its lease. It has been so long that we have forgotten that Alcoa is just our tenant -- now squatter -- and Alcoa would have us forget that we are the landlord.
For years, Alcoa has been seeking a new license to use our property to generate electricity and sell it to the highest bidder, without paying us a dime. I say, let's use the free market: Let's put the project out for bid from qualified operators who will respect the environment, and let Alcoa either pay up for our property or lose the project to a better bidder.
Cheers to Perdue for seeing through Alcoa's palaver and artful obfuscation to the truth. Cheers to us for the prospect of closing a small part of the state's scary budget deficit.
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