RALEIGH ó Gov. Mike Easley has signed into law Senate Bill 1046, which directs the Environmental Review Commission to study the impact of renewing Alcoa Power Generating’s 50-year license to operate a series of dams on the Yadkin River.
Easley signed the bill Monday, drawing a commendation from the Stanly County Board of Commissioners, which opposes Alcoa’s operation of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.
The Environmental Review Commission, consisting of members of the state legislature, must develop proposals in a report due Feb. 1, 2009.
The options open to the commission include:
– Taking back the license to operate the dams and sell the hydroelectric power generated. Stanly officials contend Alcoa signed a license in 1958 acknowledging the federal government had the right to recapture the project under Section 14 of the Federal Power Act.
The law also requires the government to reimburse the company the net book value of “project property.”
Alcoa has had the use of the Yadkin River for 93 years and is now asking for another 50 years.
– Place conditions on any renewed license, ranging from protecting the environment to improving the economic well-being of the citizens in the Piedmont.
Stanly officials also want the commission to examine state tax breaks Alcoa received on the promise of maintaining jobs at the Badin Works in Stanly County. Estimates are that Alcoa received $1 million per year in tax breaks on the electricity it generated while it was shutting down the Badin Works plant and eliminating all jobs.
Easley signed the bill after it received unanimous votes on July 15 in the House Judiciary Committee (15-0), on July 16 in the state House (114-0) and on July 17 in the state Senate (46-0).
Stanly commissioners were the first elected leaders to ask the state to intervene in Alcoa’s effort to renew its license, saying the state’s water rights for a public resource such as the Yadkin River should take precedence over a private firm such as Alcoa having an unlimited monopoly. Similar resolutions were signed by Davidson, Randolph, Iredell, Anson, Cabarrus and Union counties boards of commissioners, as well as the Centralina Council of Governments.