Alcoa and the Big Bribe

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.

Alcoa and its cat’s paw Clean Tech say they are ready to create 250 jobs in Stanly County – but, again, the offer comes with conditions. In exchange Stanly County Commissioners have to support Alcoa’s bid for a new 50-year license to control the Yadkin River. Plus, the Governor has to grant Alcoa a new 401 Water Quality Certificate. If these demands are not met, Alcoa says, there’ll only be one person to blame for the lost jobs – Governor Perdue. This is the political equivalent of blackmail. Alcoa is saying, Do this or we’ll blame you for lost jobs.

According to the Wall Street Journal; Kick Back Probe At Alcoa Heats Up 10/25/11, two Alcoa officials were arrested last month on corruption charges for allegedly paying bribes in exchange for contracts favorable to Alcoa. This is the same company that got caught falsifying dissolved oxygen data which led, last December, to NC state officials revoking Alcoa’s Water Quality Certification needed to obtain the 50-year license. Alcoa also denied it contaminated Badin Lake with deadly PCB’s and other toxic chemicals for years – until just last month. Alcoa’s solution: Drop a 3 acre armored cap into Badin Lake to cover the contamination before fully assessing downstream or public health impacts while escaping costly dredging and responsibility for damages to our natural resources.

Now Alcoa wants Stanly County and the Governor to trust it and Clean Tech to deliver on its promises.  But consider this: Not too long ago Clean Tech’s front men John Corenti and David Stickler boldly announced they were going to locate a plant in Amory, Mississippi. The plant never opened. Mr. Stickler and other investors also announced they would open a plant (CaliSolar) in Ontario, Ohio. Despite direct intervention from the Governor of Ohio and government tax incentives to recruit CaliSolar, it never opened either. If Alcoa receives its federal license and then Clean Tech announces it will not be opening the Badin plant it would be the worst deal the citizens of NC have ever seen. In contrast, public ownership over the Yadkin River would create thousands of jobs through low cost electricity and provide clean drinking water for future generations.

Knowing Alcoa’s record, the Stanly County Commissioners wisely asked the company to tie the jobs to the 50-year license and commit to pay legally binding penalties ($1million per year for the duration of the license) if it failed to live up to its end of an agreement. Alcoa refused. All Alcoa has done is make promises which, as the Commissioners stated in their press release, “are not worth the paper they are written on.” Bravo Stanly County for doing what is in the best interest of the public and continuing to demand Alcoa clean up its toxic waste.

Alcoa is desperately trying to settle this matter to avoid having to go back to court in February where it will be revealed once again that Alcoa has been a poor steward of the Yadkin River, a public waterway that belongs to the citizens of NC.  Alcoa should not be rewarded with another 50-year license obtained through deception, bribery and blackmail.

Dean Naujoks, Yadkin Riverkeeper