Yadkin River's List: Inside Stanly Coverage

• In a power point presentation, Chairman Dunevant challenged the numbers released by Alcoa last week as to their options on the table, particularly the $1.2 million financial guarantee from Alcoa to Stanly County should the 450 Clean Tech jobs not materialize. Dunevant pressed the value of this guarantee over the life of the 50-year license, asserting that Alcoa had not factored in depreciation. Dunevant contended that due to inflation that amount would be worth only $500,000 by the year 2020 and just $188,000 at the end of 50 years when the license would again be up for renewal.
• On the flip side, Dunevant said that Alcoa’s profits from dam revenues would grow at a 3.15% inflation rate from Alcoa’s reported $25 million per year to $114 million at the end of 50 years.
• “I hope you got that… $1.2 million down to $185,000 and $25 million up to $114 million,” Dunevant stated.
• In addition to seeing this as inequitable for Stanly County, Dunevant made the point that the $1.2 million would not come directly to Stanly County, rather the funds would go to an economic development trust to be co-managed by the commissioners and the N.C. Department of Commerce. “The money would not go to human services, education or public safety, but to an economic development trust,” Dunevant said.
• “We will be looking for some long-term guarantee that offsets the inflation. A penalty is supposed to create an incentive to perform, not the opposite,” Dunevant said regarding the $1.2 million guarantee now on the table that shrinks over time.
• “That shows me that water is becoming a commodity,” Snyder said. “We don’t need to allow a coup to obtain a license for clean water at the expense of the public.”
• “Alcoa thought they’d get a rubber stamp for renewal, but there’s too much discord in this community for that,” Bryant said. We need to recapture the FERC license and remove Alcoa.”
• “It’s ludicrous to think the commissioners don’t want jobs,” Dick said.
• Bramlett warns of selling Stanly County’s birthright
• “We don’t need to sell our birthright for a cup of soup,
• “I’ve never seen bribery and blackmail like what had been going on the past couple weeks,” he said regarding the Alcoa commitments and Clean Tech deadline. “Alcoa has falsified records and poisoned this river. You have every right not to trust Alcoa.”

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• A survey of 500 registered voters across North Carolina indicated that most North Carolinians overwhelmingly oppose such an agreement.
• Many environmentalists and state and local officials in the region have remained steadfast in their belief that the river should be controlled by a publicly held trust in order to provide better benefits to the region and state. 
• Alcoa lost a critical water quality permit last year when internal company e-mails showed that officials withheld information that downstream waters may not meet state standards. In addition, although elevated levels of PCBs produced by Alcoa have been found in fish in the river, Alcoa fought the installation of signs along Badin Lake warning people not to eat the contaminated fish, which infuriated many local lake residents.
• According to Nancy Gottovi, Executive Director of Central Park NC, the December 15 deadline looks like an attempt to apply enormous political pressure on local officials and the Governor to drop their opposition to the 50-year license
• • 72% of North Carolina registered voters said no to Alcoa being granted a new 50-year license, while 76% stated that they would prefer that a “public trust” control the Yadkin River and use the hydroelectricity as an incentive to bring jobs to North Carolina.
   
  • The majority of voters (60%) also indicated that they were usually skeptical when a multinational corporation like Alcoa tells a community they will provide permanent jobs.
   
  • The majority of voters (58%) also agree with the statement “Every effort must be made to protect our water resources, even if it makes recruitment of industry more difficult.” 
   
  • An overwhelming majority of voters (74%) support Governor Perdue’s opposition to a new 50-year license for Alcoa to control the Yadkin River because she believes the waters of the Yadkin River belong to the people of North Carolina and should be used to help create new jobs and economic opportunity for the region.
• We were concerned that the Yadkin relicensing issue was being seen as a local Stanly County issue, and that the opinions of residents throughout the entire river basin were not being heard.  We also see this as a major public policy issue that has implications for the entire state.  The control of water resources is immensely important as we plan for future growth in terms of drinking water, but also for clean, renewable energy. 

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