EDITORIALS: Controlling water

April 02, 2008

The Yadkin River slices through North Carolina and into South Carolina on a southeast course from its headwaters in the Blue Ridge. Since early in the 20th century it has powered a hydroelectric operation that once provided electricity for the bustling Alcoa aluminum plant at Badin.

Now it's the topic of a concerted campaign by Stanly County officials to slow down a federal relicensing process that would give Alcoa another 50-year license to generate power and control a section of the river's waters. The group wants the Easley administration to step in to oppose a new license and support the 'recapture' of the company's investment in the hydro operation -- a repurchase process allowed for in federal law but never before exercised, the company says.

Those who want to in effect buy back the Narrows Dam from Alcoa argue that because the company has shut down its local smelter operations and no longer employs a large workforce, North Carolina would be wise to regain control of the Yadkin River and its water resources. They cite a longstanding Supreme Court opinion that the water belongs to the people. And they argue that the river's generating power shouldn't be controlled by a multinational corporation with no significant local operation -- especially at a time of drought when local users would have to ask for permission to tap into the river.

Roger Dick, chief executive officer of Uwharrie Capital Corp., told a water allocation study commission this year that the Federal Power Act provides that no entity should be allowed to use a river solely for its own profits or to under-use the full potential of the river. 'In North Carolina, the value of our water is an ever-increasing commodity,' he said. This state should follow South Carolina's lead and create a public power authority and use the electricity generated by the 900 megawatt hydropower station to create jobs and boost economic development, he added.

Alcoa disagrees, arguing that its relicensing plan carries significant local benefits, including new lands for state parks and game lands, new fishing piers and a swimming area. It also notes that the company is actively recruiting prospects for redevelopment of its Badin plant. And, says Alcoa's Gene Ellis, 'The water supply of the Yadkin River is not in jeopardy.'

The company has several water-use agreements with local governments and water use has never been an issue. Stanly County is raising these questions at the last minute in a lengthy process that has nothing to do with the shut-down smelter operation. And the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has said a sale of the facility isn't an option, Mr. Ellis said.

Nothing would be irrevocably lost from a candid reappraisal of the state's relationship with the Yadkin River and Alcoa's stewardship of it. Gov. Easley and his administration should give the arrangement a close look.

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