By Bruce Henderson
bhenderson@charlotteobserver.com
Friday May 15, 2009
Yadkin Riverkeeper appeals Alcoa permit
The Yadkin Riverkeeper said today he has challenged the state water-quality certificate awarded for the controversial Alcoa hydroelectric project on the Yadkin.
Last week the state awarded a certificate Alcoa needs to renew its 50-year federal hydro license.
The certificate said Alcoa's operations won't hurt water quality in the Yadkin, but included several conditions the company will have to meet, such as monitoring of contamination.
Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks, a non-government watchdog of the Yadkin, charges that the N.C. Division of Water Quality failed to obey state and federal law in issuing the certificate. He filed a petition asking a state administrative court to review the decision.
Gov. Bev Perdue has also intervened in the license, arguing that the Yadkin's hydropower should be placed in the hands of a public trust.
Perdue's lawyers have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which was poised to reissue the license to Alcoa, for a 120-day delay in which to argue its case. The commission has not ruled on that request.
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