Garry Kenney: Alcoa not the bad guy

The Oct. 15 Point of View “Property rights and the public trust” by Susan Taylor about Alcoa and use of the Yadkin River was a misinformed view of Alcoa and the hydroelectric relicensing process.

Yes, the Federal Power Act provides for others to “bid” for obtaining a license to a hydroelectric project, but it establishes a timeline for when applications can be filed. Alcoa was the only one to file for a license for the Yadkin project in a timely fashion. Others attempted to intervene over six years after the deadline.

The act also provides for “recapture” of a hydroelectric project by a federal agency – not state or county – for the net depreciated cost invested in the project. No federal agency has ever attempted to use this provision here or with any other hydroelectric project.

The state tried to intervene late but was ruled out of order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Federal Power Act does provide for a state to take over a hydroelectric project through condemnation proceedings, and North Carolina could do this. But this means that it would have to pay fair market value for the project, which is estimated at $500 million. The state doesn’t want to pay that. It wants to just take it over.

Alcoa is not trying to “run roughshod” over the people of the state. It worked for several years to establish the basis for a new license. The Badin Lake Association, High Rock Lake Association, the Land Trust for Central North Carolina, the Nature Conservancy, the counties surrounding the lakes, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and many other agencies participated in drawing up and approving the relicensing agreement. All initially approved it except Stanly County, and Stanly County eventually also did approve. Alcoa is not a demon.

The length limit was waived to permit a fuller response to the POV.

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Garry Kenney: Alcoa not the bad guy."