Bruce Henderson had the story this morning about Alcoa getting a state water quality permit, the last step before getting a federal renewal of its license to operate the Yadkin River hydroelectric plants. Here's the company's announcement:
North Carolina approves water quality certificate for Yadkin Project, clears the way for FERC to issue Alcoa a long-term license
RALEIGH (MAY 7, 2009) – The N.C. Division of Water Quality today issued Alcoa Power Generating Inc. a required water quality certificate for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. The action clears the way for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a new long-term license for the Yadkin Project.
“Obtaining this water quality certificate was the last major milestone in the relicensing effort that we began in 2002,” said Gene Ellis, APGI licensing and property manager. “We hope FERC will now move quickly to issue a new long-term license for the Yadkin Project so that we can begin implementing the important benefits in our relicensing settlement agreement.”
Once FERC issues a new long-term license for the Yadkin Project, APGI will begin implementing the relicensing settlement agreement that it negotiated with state and federal agencies, local governments, homeowners and recreational users, business organizations, environmental interest groups and others. The agreement will improve water quality in the Yadkin River, create new recreational opportunities around the lakes, better protect the water supply during drought, provide for increased water withdrawals by local municipalities and set aside land for conservation purposes.
A day earlier, Stanly County posted a couple of items about the ongoing campaign to recapture the license and have the state operate the hydro projects. Here are a couple of items Bruce Thompson passed along, including a link to the state's 90-page motion to intervene in the case before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission:
This is to notify you that the State of North Carolina has today filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") a "Motion of Intervenor, the State of North Carolina, by and Through its Governor, Beverly Eaves Perdue, for Approval of a Reasonable Schedule to Present Evidence to Assist the Commission in its Determination of Alcoa's Re-Licensing Application and of the State's Request that the United States Recapture the License for a Public Use" in FERC docket number P-2197-073 (Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. - Yadkin Hydroelectric Project). You can access the State's Motion on-line by going to the FERC website under Documents and Filing - see http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asp.
Just in case you have problems obtaining an on-line copy of the State's Motion from FERC, I am also attaching hereto a courtesy copy of the State's Motion.
Should you have any questions concerning this email message, its attachment or anything else, please let me know.
My contact information is as follows:
I. Faison Hicks
Special Deputy Attorney General
North Carolina Department of Justice
And U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell and five other N.C. congressmen -- Brad Miller, David Price, Bobby Etheridge, Mike McIntyre and G.K. Butterfield, -- have written FERC asking it to allot plenty of time for the state to make its case why the license renewal should be denied and why it should support recapture.
