Monday, July 06, 2009

Commissioners seek House support for bill

Sunday, July 5, 2009 — The Stanly County Board of Commissioners are seeking support from legislators in the N.C. House of Represen-tatives for Senate Bill 967 (Creation of Yadkin River Trust). This legislation would allow the state to acquire and operate the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project as opposed to Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (Alcoa), which has applied for a 50-year federal license to monopolize control of and exploit the water and hydroelectric power generated by North Carolina’s Yadkin River.

The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the House Water Resources and Infrastructure Committee at 2 p.m. July 7, in Room 1228 of the Legislative Building.

Senate Bill 967 will establish a Trust that would develop, sell and distribute hydroelectric power generated by the Project for the benefit of the people of North Carolina, as well as maintain recreational facilities and ensure equitable distribution of water for public purposes at all times.

The Project includes dams and powerhouses along a 38-mile stretch of the Yadkin River at High Rock, Tucker-town, Narrows and Falls Reservoirs in Davie, David-son, Rowan, Montgomery and Stanly counties.

The Trust will honor aspects of the Relicensing Settlement Agreement (RSA) negotiated by local government and environmental groups in 2008, including water for the city of Albemarle, a comprehensive drought management plan (the Low Inflow Proto-col), water quality improvements for the Yadkin, and new and expanded public recreation facilities.

However, the Trust will provide more benefits to North Carolina state residents than Alcoa, including:

  • An assurance that the water of the Yadkin, which the public owns, will be valued for the benefit of all North Carolinians rather than exploited for profit.
  • Priority consideration to local needs, with the intent of restoring and improving environmental, public health, economic and job considerations.
  • Power generated from the Project will be used for the benefit of the citizens of North Carolina, not a multinational company answerable to no one in North Carolina.

The bill also establishes a board of directors of seven members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the General Assembly to oversee the Yadkin River Trust and carry out its goals and activities.

Alcoa, the Project’s current license holder, has applied through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for another 50-year license to continue its monopoly where it earns tens of millions of dollars annually by using the Yadkin’s water to power its turbines and sell hydropower on the electrical grid mostly out of state, with no regulation by the N.C. Utilities Commis-sion. Its application is on hold due to an injunction preventing it from receiving a 401 Water Quality Certification from the state of North Carolina.

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue has intervened at FERC on behalf of the state of North Carolina. Perdue intervened in the proceeding to curtail Alcoa’s private control of this segment of the Yadkin River and to rededicate this valuable public resource to a significant public use.

Members of the North Carolina Congressional Dele-gation have shown support for the governor in this process. Eight members of the House, led by U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell (D-8th District), have written a letter to the FERC requesting Perdue and the state receive sufficient time to present its new evidence as to why Alcoa’s application for relicensure should be denied and further, why FERC should recapture the license and transfer it to the state of North Carolina. U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R) and Kay Hagan (D) signed a joint letter with the same request. The FERC said it will consider information supplied by the state before making its final decision on the Project.

The N.C. Senate approved Senate Bill 967 by a vote of 44-4 on May 6. Its bipartisan sponsors are state senators Fletcher L. Hartsell Jr. (R-Cabarrus), Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), Stan Bingham (R-Davidson), Dan Clodfel-ter (D-Mecklenburg), Will-iam Purcell (D-Scotland, Stanly), Tony Rand (D-Cum-berland) and Jerry Tillman (R-Montgomery, Randolph).

There is a companion bill, House Bill 1455, which is sponsored by state Represen-tatives Harold J. Brubaker (R-Randolph), Justin Burr (R-Stanly, Union, Montgom-ery), Lorene Coates (D-Rowan) and Melanie Wade Goodwin (D-Montgomery, Richmond).

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