Document Actions
Wed. Late: Otherwise
posted at 2009-04-30 00:39 | Last modified 2009-04-30 09:17
Fightin’ Words
The most interesting committee hearing of the day had to be the Senate Finance debate over S967, the Yadkin River Trust bill.
If you haven’t been keeping up, here’s a recap: about 50 years ago the Feds (with the state’s blessing) gave Alcoa exclusive rights to use the Yadkin River to make hydropower for a smelter employing about 900 people. Half a century later, the smelter and the jobs are ancient history, and the state is asking the Feds to give its water rights back. Just in case it wins (which is by no means certain, since nothing like this has ever happened before), the state needs a managing body to take over Alcoa's hydro operations. Hence the bill.
Senate Finance gave the proposal a thorough thrashing out today. Primary sponsor Fletcher Hartsell (R-Cabarrus) is usually one of the most mild-mannered, even-tempered guys on Jones St., but he was in high dudgeon in 544 today -- pacing the floor, addressing the jury, even pounding his fist on the table as he dismantled Alcoa’s arguments. It was good stuff. I’d never have pegged Hartsell as an Erin Brockovich type, but after today, well…
Hartsell said he was initially inclined to back Alcoa’s rights to renew its license for the dams it had built and paid for. But that was before he met some protestors last year outside a water allocation meeting.
“I thought they were crazy. Then we started reading materials that were available. And I don’t mean just somebody’s opinion. I mean absolute documents. The recapture numbers and figures and circumstances.”
The circumstances Hartsell refers to include a “fish study” that found PCB contamination in fish in Alcoa’s reservoirs. When local officials tried to put up signs warning fisherman not to eat those fish, Alcoa fought the warnings -- a move Hartsell called “fundamentally irresponsible.”
And then there’s the issue of water deoxygenation problems caused by Alcoa’s aging turbines. Alcoa’s Gene Ellis told me the company opted not to invest capital in upgrades because it anticipated a licensing fight over dams that didn’t generate much revenue, anyway. Hartsell says that’s a circular argument. He says the company made plenty of money from the hydropower dams, but chose to defer maintenance costs because it could -- the Feds didn’t enforce compliance, and the state had no authority to follow up.
Alcoa also argued the dams are a bad investment that would cost the state more money than they’d make. But Hartsell says that’s counter-intuitive: if that were true, he says, Alcoa would probably be happy to sell them off. But Ellis says Alcoa isn't interested in selling.
The measure passed Finance easily and is due on the Senate floor sometime next week.
Heeeeeeeelz
The color of the day was Carolina Blue in honor of the NCAA championship Tar Heel team’s visit to Jones St. today. The team, coaches, and managers endured not one but two resolutions, the more lengthy and self-satisfied version having been penned by UNC's chief booster, Sen. Maj. Leader Tony Rand.
Coach Roy Williams was gracious as ever in accepting the honor on behalf of his players. He also told a little story about ACC basketball by way of Krispy Kreme. (3:28)
Listen Now!
If you’re jealous of lawmakers’ access to the Chapel Hill rockstars, don't be. I have it on good authority that Williams forbade legislators from even asking his players for autographs.
Smoking Ban
The Senate is scheduled to vote Thurs on H2, a controversial smoking ban for public buildings and workplaces. The House version offered an exemption for bars and nightclubs that serve only adults. But that provision didn’t sit well with restaurant owners like Richard Gusler, who owns the Raleigh pub Player’s Retreat. He says because he serves food to families, he would have to ban smoking, while the bar next door would not.
"50 percent of my business is after 10:00. That’s the smokers. If they have a way they can go to another place and smoke, they’re gone. Which means I’m gonna lose half my business, I’m gonna get killed financially and be out of business in 6 months."
The Senate’s version of the bill strips out the over-18 exemption, banning smoking in bars and restaurants alike. It’s expected to pass, but the Senate's changes will likely send the bill to conference committee.
Comments? Drop me a line.
