week of 4/3/02
 
 
 

Relicensing must bring real benefits
SMN
The Tuckasegee River Basin is among our region’s most important resources. Its future is intimately tied to the communities who rely on it for power and recreation. That’s also why the plan for the river’s management being proposed by Duke Power needs to be carefully considered so the residents of this region get what they need.

Duke Power is undergoing a relicensing of its hydroelectric facilities in Western North Carolina, a process required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In the last decade or so, FERC has made it clear that the use of public waterways for power by utility companies must be balanced by the recreational and environmental needs of the communities surrounding the waterway.

This is a relatively new mandate that was not in place when the hydro plants and dams were constructed. At that time, the premium was placed on power and flood control. Now, river management by utility companies must address a wider variety of issues. Power companies face a complicated task in serving so many masters, but the recognition by FERC has led to good things for the communities where traditional uses of rivers were drastically altered by dams, the ensuing lakes, and the production of electricity.

Last week Duke released what it refers to as a “trial balloon,” a list of proposed improvements and management changes for the Tuckasegee River. These included offers to build boat ramps at Cedar Cliff and improving ramps at Bear Creek and Andrews Park; proposed minimum lake levels and river flows; shoreline protection measures; and other enhancement proposals, including the removal of the Dillsboro dam.

Overall Duke’s proposals appear fairly moderate, but they would provide for better recreational use of the river and its tributaries. As Duke wrote in materials accompanying the trial balloon released to the Tuckasegee “stakeholders” group — the proposals are a starting point for discussion.

If push comes to shove, though, environmental and recreational users might ask for more. Just over in Haywood County, the relicensing 8 years ago of the Walters Hydroelectric Plant by Carolina Power and Light led to the creation of the Pigeon River Fund. The utility company has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars each year since 1996 for projects in Haywood, Buncombe and Madison counties. The grants must benefit surface water quality, fish and wildlife habitat in the immediate vicinity of a surface water body, fishery management, or public access to a surface water body in the Pigeon River Basin. The money has paid for dozens of projects that have made waterways in the Pigeon River watershed cleaner.

In addition, CP&L agreed to guarantee waterflows that have turned the Pigeon into one of the region’s most exciting whitewater rivers. Hartford, just across the state line on Interstate 40 in Tennessee, is home to a dozen or more outposts that have sprung up since the relicensing agreement. FERC, it seems, is serious about power companies paying for the use of public waterways.

Duke officials in Western North Carolina have so far handled the relicensing effort admirably. They’ve brought together experts and environmental advocates and actively sought their opinions. But in many places where Duke provides power, it has a reputation for giving lip service to environmental concerns.

This powerful utility has a great opportunity during this relicensing to help its own reputation and help the communities it serves in Western North Carolina. We hope that is how this process concludes.