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 WFAE features this series of stories about the Yadkin River and Alcoa's fight to keep control.
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Does Alcoa Own the Land Under Its Yadkin River Dams, Lakes?
An environmental watchdog is asking the North Carolina Department of Administration to dig through property archives and determine the rightful owner of the Yadkin River. It's a question that goes to the heart of the heated dispute between Alcoa and opponents who say the company doesn't deserve to continue operating dams on the river.
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Alcoa Postcards Pressure Stanly County
Alcoa and a company called Clean Tech have given Stanly County commissioners an ultimatum: Support Alcoa's request to renew a 50-year hydropower license on the Yadkin River, or miss out on 450 jobs. The deadline is December 15.
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Trading Yadkin River Control For Jobs?
Alcoa says it has a company ready to move into the former aluminum smelter in Badin and create 450 high-paying jobs. But the deal will only happen if Stanly County officials drop their long-standing opposition to Alcoa's quest for another 50-year hydropower license on the Yadkin River. Stanly County commissioners believe the state should control those lucrative dams and use them to drive economic development.
WFAE has learned that negotiations between Alcoa and Stanly County have become so tense that a mediator is now involved.
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Alcoa, Stanly County Square Off Over Jobs
Tensions have heightened once again between Alcoa and government officials. The aluminum giant says it's found a company to move onto the site of its smelter in Badin, which closed 2002. The new company - Clean Tech Silicon and Bar LLC - says it will bring hundreds of jobs, but only if Stanly County drops its opposition to Alcoa's hydropower relicensing effort. Thus far, that's a demand the county has been unwilling to meet.
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Alcoa Details Yadkin Dam Profits, Skeptics Scoff
Alcoa made a profit of $8 million last year selling electricity from its dams on the Yadkin River. That's according to an audited financial statement Alcoa released today in an effort to convince the public that it is the best choice to operate the dams. Detractors still think the state of North Carolina could do a better job.
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Alcoa Offers 'Context' To Emails In Hopes Of Reclaiming State Support
Alcoa is battling to recover a key water quality certificate the state of North Carolina revoked at the end of last year. The revocation was based on emails that indicate Alcoa employees and consultants plotted to mislead regulators about the quality of water flowing from its dams on the Yadkin.
Last month, Alcoa told WFAE its employees never misled the state, but declined to offer further explanation. Now the company has released evidence it hopes will put the claims to rest. WFAE's Julie Rose reports:
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Alcoa Creates Tipline For Pollution Whistleblowers
Aluminum company Alcoa has set up a 1-800 hotline to collect tips on potential contamination of water and soil around Badin Lake. Critics say the move is long-overdue. Alcoa is trying to regain traction after a major setback in its effort to obtain another 50-year license to operate dams on the Yadkin River near Badin. WFAE's Julie Rose reports:
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Alcoa Seeks To 'Change The Dialogue' In Yadkin River Debate
Alcoa has a new face in North Carolina. A senior executive named Kevin Anton is making the rounds, talking to politicians, supporters, critics and the media in an effort to get Alcoa's Yadkin River relicensing project back on track. Late in 2010, Alcoa's prospects for a new 50-year license on the Yadkin ran into trouble when the state of North Carolina revoked a key certificate.
"We haven't been comfortable with the dialogue that's going on here in North Carolina and realized if we didn't change something we're just gonna be stuck in the same dialogue," says Kevin Anton, Alcoa's Chief Sustainability Officer.
Anton recently spoke with WFAE's Julie Rose.
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Alcoa Emails Shed Light On State Regulator's Concerns
A document filed with federal energy authorities sheds more light on the latest dispute between Alcoa and the North Carolina Division of Water Quality. Emails detail what the state believes is proof Alcoa intentionally misled regulators. WFAE's Julie Rose reports:
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GOP Senator Asks EPA To Investigate Alcoa
A North Carolina state senator has asked the EPA to launch a criminal investigation of Alcoa to see if the company violated the Clean Water Act on the Yadkin River. WFAE's Greg Collard reports.
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NC To Revoke Alcoa Certificate On Yadkin River
North Carolina water quality officials have dealt a major blow to Alcoa in its effort to obtain a new hydropower license on the Yadkin River. The Division of Water Quality is revoking its endorsement of the project because it says Alcoa intentionally withheld key information. WFAE's Julie Rose reports:
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Judge To Decide On Key Certificate For Alcoa's Yadkin River License
Alcoa's quest to get another 50-year operating license for its dams on the Yadkin River faces a key hearing Friday in Raleigh. The company no longer needs the dams for an aluminum smelter in Stanly County, but wants to continue selling the electricity for a profit. Governor Perdue and Stanly County officials hope to block Alcoa's license renewal. But WFAE's Julie Rose reports the process is going forward:
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$3,000 Payment Lands UNC-TV, Reporter More Scrutiny
Public television station UNC-TV has turned over several hundred e-mails and other material to aluminum maker Alcoa. Alcoa filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get the material following a series of stories that negatively portray the company.
But some of the information in the e-mails do not help the credibility of UNC-TV.
WFAE's Greg Collard reports.
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Cabarrus Senator Hartsell Seeks UNC-TV's Alcoa Footage
Public television station UNC-TV plans to air a series of reports on the Yadkin River and efforts to keep Alcoa from getting federal approval to operate dams for another 50 years.
But Republican Senator Fletcher Hartsell of Concord plans to beat the station on its own story. He believes UNC-TV has material that will help his efforts to put the dams under state control.
So Hartsell and the judiciary committee he heads have subpoenaed all footage that was shot for the stories.
WFAE's Greg Collard reports.
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UNC-TV Endures Month Of Controversy
As the North Carolina legislative session wound down this month, Senator Fletcher Hartsell of Concord demanded that public television station UNC-TV turn over all raw footage gathered for a series of stories on Alcoa and the Yadkin River.
Alcoa is seeking renewal of a 50-year license to operate hydroelectric dams on the river. It wants to continue selling the electricity for a profit.
Senator Hartsell opposes Alcoa's request.
UNC-TV turned over 13 hours of raw footage. Station management decided it had to because it's part of a state agency.
But as WFAE's Greg Collard reports, that hasn't been the end of the story.
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Dispute over Badin Lake contamination leaves fishers in dark
The aluminum company Alcoa is still fighting for a new 50-year license to control dams on the Yadkin River. It's mounted an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign to counter opponents like Governor Perdue and Stanly County commissioners. Part of the debate focuses on contamination of fish at Badin Lake. WFAE's Julie Rose reports.
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Judge halts Alcoa permit for Yadkin River
An administrative law judge has put a temporary halt to Alcoa's quest for another 50-year license on the
Yadkin
River. The decision comes at the request of Gov. Bev Perdue,
Stanly
County and the Yadkin Riverkeeper.
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 Public v Private: Power Struggle on the Yadkin
Part 1: Alcoa's Company Town
Drought has forced North Carolina to take a closer look at its dependence on rivers for drinking water and economic development. The focus centers right now on the tiny town of Badin about an hour northeast of Charlotte on the Yadkin River. Over the next three days, WFAE will feature a series of stories about the river and Alcoa's fight to keep control. In Part One of "Public versus Private: Power Struggle on the Yadkin," Julie Rose tells the story of Badin.
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 Public v. Private: Power Struggle on the Yadkin
Part 2: Alcoa Fights to retain control of the Yadkin
North Carolina officials last week issued a water quality permit that puts Alcoa one step closer to another 50 year license for hydropower operation on the Yadkin River. Governor Bev Perdue and several counties on the Yadkin are contesting Alcoa's application. In the second story of our series "Public versus Private: Power Struggle on the Yadkin," WFAE's Julie Rose takes a closer look this dispute.
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 Public v. Private: Power Struggle for the Yadkin
Part 3: Who should control our rivers?
Today we have the last story in our three part series "Public versus Private: Power Struggle on the Yadkin." As it flows from the Appalachian Mountains, the Yadkin River turns into the Pee-Dee and continues to the Atlantic. Along the way it supplies water to millions of people. Alcoa's effort to secure another 50-year hydropower license on the river has brought it into the spotlight. So has the state's recent drought. WFAE's Julie Rose considers the broader impacts of the Yadkin dispute on North Carolina's rivers.
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Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins Public vs. Private: Yadkin River Rights
We'll take a closer look at the quest for Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. to retain its control over part of the Yadkin River northeast of Charlotte. There are several opponents to their effort, including Stanly County officials who think that the Yadkin River should be in the public's control, and not a private company's. We'll discuss the details behind the dispute- including environmental issues, hydroelectric power generation and the relationship between Alcoa and the Yadkin River in that part of the state. We'll also hear about how these water management situations are typically handled and how this dispute may be resolved.
Guests
Julie Rose - Reporter, WFAE News
Gene Ellis - Licensing and Property Manager, Alcoa Power Generating Inc.
Lindsey Dunevant - Stanly County Commissioner
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