BADIN ó Because of a procedural snafu, state officials have reopened public comment on the water quality certificate for Alcoa Power Generating’s Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.
Alcoa officials said Thursday that the required legal notice regarding its application for a water quality certificate for the hydroelectric project was not published.
Alcoa said it had provided the information necessary for publication of the notice in the Stanly News and Press, based in Albemarle.
“The lack of publication was apparently an inadvertent oversight,” Alcoa said.
To remedy the lack of public notice about Alcoa’s application, the N.C. Division of Water Quality posted a legal notice in the Stanly News & Press on Thursday, seeking public comment on Alcoa Power Generating’s application for a water quality certificate for the Yadkin Project, which includes High Rock and its sister lakes on the Yadkin River.
State officials will accept public comment for the next 15 days, through May 2.
The Division of Water Quality originally issued Alcoa Power Generating a water quality certificate on Nov. 17, after six months of review and public comment. Agency officials now plan to revoke it and reissue a certificate for the Yadkin Project after the public comment period has closed and after it has considered all information submitted in response to the public notice.
“We don’t expect this technicality to have an impact on the relicensing process,” said Gene Ellis, licensing and property manager for Alcoa Power Generating. “We fully anticipate the state will promptly reissue the water quality certificate once this additional public comment period has passed.”