River Network Ranks Yadkin Among Top 10 River Protection Stories of 2010

Dec. 28, 2010 - PRLog -- WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Yadkin Riverkeeper is announcing that River Network, a national watershed protection movement, has ranked efforts to clean up the Yadkin River, specifically the N.C. Division of Water Quality revoking Alcoa’s water quality permit after discovering e-mails by company officials where they misled investigators about the low level of dissolved oxygen in the water, as one of the top 10 river protection stories of 2010. The denial of the 401 Water Quality Certification on Dec. 2 has stymied Alcoa’s federal relicensing application for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project, which is dependent upon receiving the state permit. The Yadkin Riverkeeper believes Alcoa views the Project as a source it can exploit for huge revenues without addressing environmental issues such as low oxygen levels in the water caused by its operations.

“I am humbled by this honor and greatly appreciate receiving it,” said Dean Naujoks, the Yadkin Riverkeeper. “The revocation was a major triumph for us this year. The revelation that Alcoa lied to DWQ officials led to the corporation to not only lose its permit, but also forced it to defend how truthful it has been with the signers of the Relicensing Settlement Agreement as well as state officials. Its environmental promises have proven to be false with these e-mails, and its creditability is in doubt now throughout its future efforts.”

Alcoa plans to appeal the decision despite the fact that e-mails show company workers wrote statements such as “I’m certain that North Carolina Division of Water Quality would have a problem if they knew” in reference to the fact that its dam upgrades in the Yadkin actually would not comply with state water quality standards for dissolved oxygen. While that occurs, Naujoks is encouraging all RSA stakeholders to legally withdraw from the original agreement because Alcoa lied and violated the agreement’s terms. This will assist in supporting efforts to legally recapture the water rights for the Yadkin River by the citizens of North Carolina.

Alcoa, a multinational corporation based out of Pittsburgh, first obtained a 50-year license in 1958 to oversee what is known as the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project, comprised of four hydroelectric stations, dams and reservoirs along a 38-mile stretch of the Yadkin River in central North Carolina. The four water reservoirs are High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows and Falls. Alcoa is pursuing renewal of its license to control the waters of the Yadkin River, its lakes and tributaries, and the surrounding lands for another 50 years, even though Alcoa has permanently shut down its Badin Works smelting plant. Naujoks has been calling on the company to allow for proper and necessary environmental investigation of the site. Besides the low oxygen level issue, Naujoks charges that in the decades that Alcoa operated its smelter in Badin, N.C., the company discharged cancer-causing pollutants into the air, lands and waterways, and it refuses to address that problem while applying for relicensing.

In its citation, River Network writes: “Anything that lives in a river needs oxygen just like we do. Along the Yadkin River in North Carolina, Alcoa’s four dams have been suffocating river life downstream by discharging oxygen-poor waters from the bottom of their reservoirs for years. In early December, river restoration advocates gained a huge legal victory when the state of North Carolina revoked the Clean Water Act permit that the dam operators had sought to renew for the next 50 years when Alcoa officials testified the company had falsified information in their application suggesting dam upgrades would improve the low-oxygen levels.”

Founded in 1988, River Network leads a national watershed protection movement that includes nearly 5,000 state, regional and local grassroots organizations, including more than 600 dues-paying River Network “Partner” organizations. Its staff is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with field offices in Vermont, Maryland, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Utah and Idaho.

About Yadkin Riverkeeper®:
Yadkin Riverkeeper’s mission is to respect, protect and improve the Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin through education, advocacy and action.  It is aimed at creating a clean and healthy river that sustains life and is cherished by its people.  To achieve this vision, it seeks to accomplish the following objectives: sustain a RIVERKEEPER® program, measurably improve water quality, reestablish native bio-diversity, preserve and enhance the forest canopy, bring legal action to enforce state and federal environmental laws, and teach and practice a “river ethic” of ecological respect to all ages.  For more information, visit http://www.yadkinriverkeeper.org or call 336-837-7669.

About Dean Naujoks:
Dean Naujoks is the Yadkin Riverkeeper, employed by Yadkin Riverkeeper Inc. since the fall of 2008 to manage and implement a river advocacy program for the Yadkin Pee Dee River watershed in North Carolina that will keep it a healthy and vibrant river for residents and businesses in the long term.  Yadkin Riverkeeper is a licensed member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, which connects and supports local Waterkeeper programs to provide a voice and champion clean water for waterways and their communities worldwide.  A longtime water quality advocate, Naujoks became the first Upper Neuse Riverkeeper in 2001 at the nonprofit Neuse River Foundation.  His job there was to monitor conditions and advocate for protection of the Neuse River from Falls Lake to Goldsboro.  He was appointed by Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker to serve on the joint government PCB Task Force to address PCB contamination in Crabtree Creek from Ward Transformer.  A graduate of N.C. State, Naujoks created his own major in environmental policy and sustainable development. He also worked for the NC Wildlife Federation from 1991-1999.  Naujoks received American Rivers’ 2009 National “River Hero” Award on behalf of his efforts.

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MMI Public Relations
Patty Briguglio
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