Yadkin River is a vital North Carolina Water Resource

by Patty

Anyone living in North Carolina knows that the entire state is facing drought conditions which are not going away anytime soon. To combat this situation, the state is urging municipalities to consider allocating and transferring water resources to meet the needs of customers.

Yet for one major source of present and future fresh water – the Yadkin River – the state is ready to cede control of it in Stanly County to a private worldwide conglomerate for the next 50 years. And with that move, there will be no possibility that local and state interests can determine the best way – or any way at all – to use the water the Yadkin provides. As a major part of the Yadkin-Pee Dee Watershed that covers 93 municipalities in 21 counties, that means the decision will have a substantial impact on the Yadkin’s ability to share water in the areas affected.

Alcoa first built the Narrows Dam at Badin and began using its hydroelectricity to smelt aluminum there in 1918. Since 1958, Alcoa has had a 50-year license to use the public waters of the Yadkin to generate electricity and create nearly 1,000 high-paying jobs for Stanly County residents. Those jobs are now gone. Alcoa smelts aluminum in foreign countries and shut down its smelting operations at Badin in recent years. The sole remaining function of its Stanly operations now is to generate electricity for sale on the grid through Alcoa’s subsidiary, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. Alcoa has now broken the deal it struck with the people 50 years ago, and a new license will enable it to make enormous profits from the clean, green hydropower without sharing any of it with the people of our state. Most importantly, a new license will give control of our water resources for 50 years to this multinational corporation that has been identified in a January 29, 2008, Wall Street Journal article by Dennis K. Berman as a potential takeover target by international mining and mineral interests. It is obvious the setup benefits them the most.

Even so, with Alcoa’s license set to expire on April 30, the firm believes it should receive another 50-year renewal. Should Alcoa’s request win approval, it not only can control the allocation of water from the Yadkin River through the year 2058, but also can sell that right to any third party.

The general welfare of the people of Stanly County, surrounding areas, and the entire state of North Carolina, should have priority over any private interest regarding the Yadkin, particularly in this time of need during our drought. We are not the only ones who believe this – so does the federal government. The Federal Water Power Act of 1920 allows for licensing the best adapted use of the public’s waterways in terms of such beneficial public activities as recreation and irrigation. Clearly, what Alcoa is doing now does not meet the terms of this act.

Robin Craig, a law professor and water expert at Florida State University’s College of Law, told USA Today in its March 18, 2008 edition that the Southeast region “needs to plan for its water usage, that it can’t take for granted that all the water it needs will always be there.” We agree 100 percent with that statement, and in that light, we urge the state to deny the Alcoa relicensing and recapture its water from private corporations as provided by federal law so that the future water needs of North Carolinians can be met.

If you agree, take action now. To help North Carolina recapture its water from this private corporation as provided by federal law, contact your state representatives listed below.

Contact the Governor’s Office
Governor Michael F. Easley
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301
(919)733-4240
(919)733-5811
governor.office@ncmail.net

Contact Speaker of the House Joe Hackney
2304 State Legislative Building
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-1096
Phone: (919) 733-3451
Fax: (919) 828-6257
joeh@ncleg.net

Contact Senator Richard Burr
217 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3154
Fax: (202) 228-2981
Email form available at: http://burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

Contact Senator Elizabeth Dole
555 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202.224.6342
Fax: 202.224.1100
Email form available at: http://dole.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.ContactForm

Contact Senator Marc Basnight
North Carolina Senate
16 W. Jones Street, Room 2007
Raleigh, NC 27601-2808
Phone: (919) 733-6854
Marcb@ncleg.net

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