With a favorable judgement already in its back pocket, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. and the State of North Carolina is heading into what could be the final phase of a lawsuit and nearing the end of a relicensing process.

In late April, Federal Judge Terrence Boyle ruled that boats couldn’t navigate the Yadkin River when North Carolina became a state. Boyle’s ruling in North Carolina’s Eastern District federal court was an initial and important step for Alcoa, as it looks to prove it owns portions of riverbed with its dams perched on top. The company’s next step is to produce hard evidence that it owns the land. Navigability of the river at statehood would’ve given the State of North Carolina a claim to the riverbed.

Court documents largely don’t focus or even mention the underlying issues that brought about the state’s action. The root cause of the suit is Alcoa’s attempt to obtain a 50-year operating license for its four dams on the Yadkin. Dating even further back, local and state officials have misgivings about the company’s closure of Badin Works, which once employed hundreds of people and is essentially the reason that the Town of Badin, in Stanly County, exists.

Alcoa’s operating license for its four dams on the Yadkin expired in 2008, a few years after it ceased operation of Badin Works. The company began pursuing a renewal of its license through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The renewal was first challenged by Stanly County government, which argued the company hand’t fulfilled its economic commitment in closing Badin Works. The two eventually reached a settlement.

Then, in August 2013, State Government filed a lawsuit in Wake county Superior Court that sought a decision from the court on whether Alcoa actually owned the property underneath its dams. It effectively stopped Alcoa’s effort to relicense its dams for another 50 years.

Federal government officially has control over the relicensing process, but state government has to issue a water quality certificate. When the state filed its suit, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources denied the relicensing. The lawsuit is specifically cited in a denial letter.

Once the suit is resolved DENR says Alcoa can resubmit its request for the water quality permit.

Yadkin Riverkeeper Will Scott, however, still has concerns about pollution seeping from Badin Works into the river.

“The hazardous waste site now sits mostly vacant, behind a high fence,” Scott wrote in an email. “Cyanide pollution continues to be discharged into Badin Lake and Mountain Creek to the present day.”

Now, both the state and Alcoa sit at a standstill. Alcoa is still generating large amounts of energy annually. The company subsequently sells its energy and makes millions of dollars each year.

Ray Barham, Alcoa’s relicensing manager, declined to comment about the ongoing litigation. Barham, however, answered questions about  previous decisions by the court and the denial of a water quality permit.

“Alcoa has been generating clean, renewable energy along the Yadkin River for nearly 100 years,” Barham said. “We have invested significant resources in these dams and will continue our efforts to renew our license. More than two dozen stakeholders in central North Carolina — including local governments, homeowner and recreational organizations, and environmental groups — support a new license for Alcoa.”

Barham said the company plans to make capital investments on the Yadkin that would improve water quality. He wouldn’t comment on whether the company plans to operate its facilities for the entire 50 years, if the federal government grants a license.

The most recent action in the lawsuit include motions related to an appeal of the judge’s navigability ruling. Boyle’s decision on navigability is classified as a “final order,” and the state asks the court to allow an appeal.

In response, Alcoa’s lawyers state: “With only weeks of work left for the parties and the Court, it would neither increase judicial efficiency nor make any sense to allow a piecemeal appeal at this late date.”

As the suit continues, Alcoa has support of some state legislators. Sen. Andrew Brock, R-34, recently called the state’s lawsuit foolish in a tweet that included a link to the judge’s final order.

Rep. Justin Burr, a Republican who represents Stanly and Montgomery counties, related the lawsuit to South Carolina’s recent economic announcement that Volvo would build a facility in the state.

“What automaker would want to locate here when they see NC’s treatment of one of its global partner(s)?” Burr said on twitter.

Josh Bergeron is a reporter for the Salisbury Post.