NCACC Adopts Resolution Urging Environmental Review Commission to Study Yadkin Licensing Options
The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) has unanimously passed a resolution supporting the state’s Environmental Review Commission (ERC) study to examine the effects of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project relicensing on issues vital to North Carolina’s future clean water supply.
Raleigh, NC, August 28, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) has unanimously passed a resolution supporting the state’s Environmental Review Commission (ERC) study to examine the effects of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project relicensing on issues vital to North Carolina’s future clean water supply. The resolution urges the ERC to study all available options to the State of North Carolina, including the recapture provisions under federal law, as it reviews the impacts on the State if Alcoa’s application for a new 50-year license for generating hydroelectric power on the Yadkin River, also known as the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project, is granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The resolution was adopted at the 101st NCACC Annual Conference in New Bern, N.C. on August 22. In July, both the General Assembly and Governor Mike Easley charged the ERC with the task of studying and developing proposals in connection with the federal relicensing proceeding, which will govern if Alcoa receives an exclusive license for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project located in Central North Carolina. At stake is an estimated $45 million in annual electric power revenue and water rights that Alcoa’s opponents across the state believe should be subject to the control for the people, not for the benefit of a private multinational corporation. The water rights to generate electricity over the next 50 years are conservatively valued in excess of $10 billion.
For more information and the full text of the resolution adopted by the NCACC, visit http://www.mmimarketing.com/blog/ncacc-unanimously-adopts-resolution-urging-environmental-review-commission-to-study-yadkin-project-licensing-options.
“It is a powerful statement for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners to make in encouraging the state to examine all available options related to the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project relicensing and show respect for our water rights and public resources,” said Stanly County Manager Jerry Myers. “We are very appreciative of this resolution, and we hope that members of the Environmental Review Commission study how all counties in the watershed are and will be adversely affected on many levels by this relicensing if Alcoa retains its monopoly on power from the Yadkin River.”
About This Effort:
In 1958, Alcoa, the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, secured a federal hydroelectric license for the Yadkin Project on the Yadkin River in Stanly, Davidson, Montgomery and Rowan Counties in the Central Piedmont. In return, Alcoa promised aluminum manufacturing jobs for Stanly County for years to come. Alcoa has now essentially disappeared as a major employer in the region and shut down its manufacturing plants, but it wants to continue reaping the benefits of the Yadkin River after its license expired in April of this year. In addition, Alcoa discharged hazardous pollutants into North Carolina air and waterways for decades while harvesting immense profits from the Yadkin River, but has yet to finish cleaning up that contamination. It has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to obtain another 50-year license. If Alcoa is successful, one of North Carolina’s most valuable water resources will be used to maximize Alcoa’s profits, instead of being used to benefit the people of North Carolina, who themselves are in dire need of affordable electricity, local economic development, and clean, adequate drinking water.
Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC
###
The resolution was adopted at the 101st NCACC Annual Conference in New Bern, N.C. on August 22. In July, both the General Assembly and Governor Mike Easley charged the ERC with the task of studying and developing proposals in connection with the federal relicensing proceeding, which will govern if Alcoa receives an exclusive license for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project located in Central North Carolina. At stake is an estimated $45 million in annual electric power revenue and water rights that Alcoa’s opponents across the state believe should be subject to the control for the people, not for the benefit of a private multinational corporation. The water rights to generate electricity over the next 50 years are conservatively valued in excess of $10 billion.
For more information and the full text of the resolution adopted by the NCACC, visit http://www.mmimarketing.com/blog/ncacc-unanimously-adopts-resolution-urging-environmental-review-commission-to-study-yadkin-project-licensing-options.
“It is a powerful statement for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners to make in encouraging the state to examine all available options related to the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project relicensing and show respect for our water rights and public resources,” said Stanly County Manager Jerry Myers. “We are very appreciative of this resolution, and we hope that members of the Environmental Review Commission study how all counties in the watershed are and will be adversely affected on many levels by this relicensing if Alcoa retains its monopoly on power from the Yadkin River.”
About This Effort:
In 1958, Alcoa, the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, secured a federal hydroelectric license for the Yadkin Project on the Yadkin River in Stanly, Davidson, Montgomery and Rowan Counties in the Central Piedmont. In return, Alcoa promised aluminum manufacturing jobs for Stanly County for years to come. Alcoa has now essentially disappeared as a major employer in the region and shut down its manufacturing plants, but it wants to continue reaping the benefits of the Yadkin River after its license expired in April of this year. In addition, Alcoa discharged hazardous pollutants into North Carolina air and waterways for decades while harvesting immense profits from the Yadkin River, but has yet to finish cleaning up that contamination. It has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to obtain another 50-year license. If Alcoa is successful, one of North Carolina’s most valuable water resources will be used to maximize Alcoa’s profits, instead of being used to benefit the people of North Carolina, who themselves are in dire need of affordable electricity, local economic development, and clean, adequate drinking water.
Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC
###
Contact
Stanly County
Patty Briguglio
919-233-6600
www.mmimarketing.com
Patty Briguglio
919-233-6600
www.mmimarketing.com
Contact
Categories