ALBEMARLE (AP) ó Aluminum giant Alcoa can expect resistance as it tries to renew a 50-year license to run four hydroelectric dams on the Yadkin River.
The state Division of Water Quality holds a hearing in Albemarle on Thursday as it considers Alcoaís request for a water-quality certificate. The certificate is needed for the company to keep running the dams along a 38-mile stretch of the river.
A nonprofit organization based in Winston-Salem that is part of a nationwide network of clean-water advocates wants Alcoa to clean up Badin Lake, a 5,300-acre reservoir on which the company ran a smelting plant for years.
Alcoa said it has spent 20 years and $10 million to clean up eight contaminated sites around the lake.