February 2011

Letter to the Editor: State may be liable, too

February 25th, 2011
in

The Dispatch

Letter to the Editor, The Dispatch
Yadkin Riverkeeper has issued a letter of intent to sue Alcoa for its PCB pollution of Badin Lake and associated violation of the federal Clean Water Act. A close examination of Alcoa’s Badin Works operations over the past 40 years and North Carolina’s regulatory activities during that time reveals another aspect of the problem.

Environmental groups challenge permit for bypass

February 23rd, 2011
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the Charlotte Observer, Adam Bell

MONROE - Environmental groups challenge permit for bypass

Environmental groups seeking to halt construction of the $950 million Monroe Connector-Bypass said Tuesday they are challenging a state permit related to the project.

Let's Get This Party Started!

February 21st, 2011
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Yadkin Riverkeeper Membership Appreciation is Tuesday

Yadkin Riverkeeper sponsors Green Drinks at Krankies.
Join Yadkin Riverkeeper for Green Drinks on Tuesday, February 22 at Krankies from 5:30 to 7:30 PM.
Yadkin Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks will preview plans for the 2011 Tour de Yadkin; over the month of April Dean will paddle virtually the entire 200+-mile length of the Yadkin River. Festive gatherings, music, educational chats and plenty of opportunities for just plain paddling fun are slated, especially on the weekends in April.

Stalking Bigfoot in the Yadkin River Basin!

February 16th, 2011
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Yadkin River Yetti

  As reported in the Charlotte Observer, a film crew from Animal Planet will join a Salisbury man in his hunt for  Bigfoot in the Uwharrie National Forest. The crew is visiting several states in an effort to capture the elusive creature using new technology and Michael Greene of Salisbury, who says he captured Bigfoot on video two years ago, will lead the film crew and volunteers on a hunt through the Uwharrie.

  Here's the Observer's story on the pursuit.

Charlotte's NPR station features series on the Yadkin and Alcoa

February 15th, 2011
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This week, during NPR's Morning Edition, WFAE is featuring a series of stories about the Yadkin River and Alcoa's fight to keep control.

WFAE has been vigilant about staying on top of this story, reporting both in-depth and from a news perspective. Listen to the series May 11 - 13, during Morning Edition at 6:30AM.

To view a list of the many stories WFAA has reported on this topic, go here.

Alcoa question draws boatload of votes in online poll

February 12th, 2011
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By Chad Killebrew, The Dispatch

Quite a few computer users out in cyberland must have carpal tunnel syndrome after participating in The Dispatch’s online poll last week.

Yadkin Riverkeeper Asks The Dispatch of Lexington, NC, to Investigate Its Poll Influenced By 43,800 Pro-ALCOA Votes Logged In The Middle of the Night

February 7th, 2011
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Winston-Salem, NC, February 7, 2011—The Yadkin Riverkeeper, Winston-Salem, NC, has requested The Dispatch newspaper of Lexington, NC, to investigate potential rigging of a recent poll on the newspaper’s website.  Yadkin Riverkeeper is asking newspaper to determine how, in an extremely short time frame, 43,800 on-line votes were cast to influence the final outcome of the poll; and to see if the votes were an automated response from a single server rather than individuals truly expressing their opinions.

Bigfoot search begins in Uwharrie National Forest

February 7th, 2011
in

By Steve Lyttle, Charlotte Observer

A national cable television channel is sending a film crew to a national forest 75 miles from Charlotte to join a Salisbury man in his search for Bigfoot.
The Animal Planet plans to document Michael Greene's search for the creature, which Greene says he captured on videotape nearly two years ago.

Alcoa's new tactic in dam dispute: Charm

February 7th, 2011
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By Ken Otterbourg, contributor, Fortune Magazine

The long-running fight between North Carolina and Alcoa over the future of four hydroelectric dams near Charlotte is heating up during this frigid winter.

As Fortune featured last November (see Alcoa and the great North Carolina power grab), Alcoa is battling to maintain licensing rights to the four dams it built nearly 100 years ago to help power an aluminum smelter in the area. With the smelter now closed and the jobs long gone, North Carolina wants the rights to the 38-mile stretch of the Yadkin River controlled by the dams back. Alcoa's 50-year license to those rights has expired, and it's fighting to renew it.

Alcoa Offers 'Context' To Emails In Hopes Of Reclaiming State Support

February 3rd, 2011
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reported by Julie Rose
WFAE

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. 



Should Yadkin Riverkeeper Sue Alcoa? Vote Now!

February 1st, 2011
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"The Dispatch" of Lexington is running a poll on their home page asking the provocative question:

Do you support the Yadkin Riverkeeper's plans to sue Alcoa over alleged pollution into the Yadkin River and its associated lakes?

Scroll all the way down to the bottom right side of the home page to see the poll and view immediate results. Please cast your vote now or go to http://www.the-dispatch.com/

PGI: dissolved oxygen levels meet standards, Riverkeeper disagrees

February 1st, 2011
in

January 30, 2011 — According to a report Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (APGI) submitted recently to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ), water leaving APGI's Yadkin Project met a state standard for dissolved oxygen levels 99.9 percent of the time in 2010.

Dean Naujoks, the Yadkin Riverkeeper, however, does not agree with the report.