By Michael Hewlett
JOURNAL REPORTER
Thursday May 28, 2009
Alcoa permit blocked
A little more than two weeks after getting a water-quality permit, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. lost it yesterday after an administrative-law judge issued a temporary stay blocking the permit.
The N.C. Division of Water Quality issued the permit on May 7. Alcoa needs the permit to renew its federal license to operate four reservoirs along the Yadkin River, including High Rock Lake in Davidson County. The temporary stay will allow for a hearing to be scheduled.
After the permit was issued, Dean Naujoks, the Yadkin River riverkeeper, and Stanly County appealed the decision to the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings in Raleigh. The agency had a hearing on May 20.
In a 13-page petition, Naujoks said that the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources failed to follow the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act and state laws when the water-quality division issued the certificate. Stanly County made similar allegations in its motion.
"I'm pretty pleased," Naujoks said yesterday. "The judge felt the merits of our case were a big deciding factor in issuing the temporary stay and that we have grounds for a strong case for why it should not have been issued."
He said he is disappointed that state environmental officials did not use their full authority to protect human health and water quality.
The state attached conditions to the permit, including the monitoring of sediment at the public-access areas at Badin Lake for heavy metals, PCBs and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons.
Stanly County officials have opposed the federal license because of concerns about contamination from the smelting plant that Alcoa, the largest U.S. producer of aluminum, operated in Badin until 2002.
The state has identified about 50 sites where waste had been dumped, and Alcoa officials have said they have worked with the state to do any environmental cleanup.
Gov. Bev Perdue has asked that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission block the license for Alcoa and filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the state administrative-law court supporting the temporary stay.
Alcoa officials said they were disappointed in another "unnecessary delay," but they said that FERC has the authority to issue a new federal license.
"The division of water quality has outlined its decision and has publicly said it made the right decision," said Kevin Lowery, a spokesman for Alcoa. "As a result of that, we're confident it will be upheld."
Michael Hewlett can be reached at 727-7326 or at mhewlett@wsjournal.com.
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