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Next week Forsyth County will conduct its first ever Creek Week, a full week of fun, educational and hands-on opportunities to discover, explore and help our local waterways.   Yadkin Riverkeeper is proud to be a part of Creek Week by hosting 3 medicine drop take back events.  Operation Medicine Drop (OMD) is a collaborative effort between law enforcement, health and safety, substance abuse prevention, environmental organizations and others.

Contact your Representative to Stop Senate Bill 76

SB 76 is on the fast track to bring fracking wastewater and off shore drilling to NC's beloved coastline.

Yadkin Riverkeeper is now in the fifth year of legal challenges to prevent aluminum giant Alcoa from receiving a fifty-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to control four hydro-power dams located on the Yadkin River. Alcoa presently monopolizes and exploits the Yadkin River’s hydroelectric capacity for its bottom line, with little in return to the people of North Carolina.

On November 28, 2012 the NC Division of Water Quality (DWQ) issued a public notice that Alcoa had reapplied for its 401 certification from the state, and set a comment deadline of January 18, 2013.  Less than two weeks later, DWQ wrote to Alcoa stating that the application was incomplete and that until the company gave the missing information to the agency, the application would be placed on hold.  Because the public cannot comment on an incomplete application, the comment period should have been extended.  A few days before the January 18^th deadline, attorneys for

Renowned Economist, Michael Shuman concludes that if the state received the standard 50-year federal license to operate hydroelectric facilities on the river, and implemented proper oversight of them, the setup can result in more than $1.2 billion in additional state revenues, and the creation and addition of 14,000-75,000 jobs.

This holiday season, we give thanks. 

Thanks to our dedicated supporters, Yadkin Riverkeeper has had a successful year working for clean water and healthy ecosystems throughout the Yadkin Pee Dee River Basin.  On behalf of our Board of Director’s and staff we want to take this opportunity to share some of our successes in 2012, our outlook for 2013 and demonstrate what can be achieved as we work together

For her blog, Be Green, Rachel sat down with Dean to interview him about the Yadkin River, water conservation and river preservation.

Rachel is a fifth grader at The Downtown School in Winston-Salem. Apart from keeping up with her blog, she enjoys animals, nature, and crafting. The following interview was transcribed from an audio recording. 

Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (APGI) announced that it has filed a motion for an order dismissing its appeal concerning the revocation of the 401 water quality certificate for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. In December 2010, Yadkin Riverkeeper and Stanly County prevailed in a lawsuit that led to the state revoking Alcoa’s 401 water quality certification.

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See the latest news here: Riverbed Litigation filed.

Alcoa says it has offered to pay Stanly County $50 million dollars in cold hard cash to drop its lawsuit and pressure Governor Perdue to walk away from the State’s efforts to recapture the Yadkin River. Speaking legally, offering $50 million to get a government license may not be a bribe. But, practically speaking, it has the same result. And that’s not all; it gets worse.