Sounds like your standard economic incentives deal. Company will make a significant investment in the area that will bring 250 jobs with the stipulation that it will pay the local government if it doesn’t deliver on its promise.
Usually local governments are more than willing to go for such a deal, except when the company is Alcoa, which is offering up the deal in exchange for the Perdue administration’s promise that it will end regulatory challenges to acquiring an operating permit from the FERC.
Further complicating matters is the fact that the Yadkin Riverkeeepr now claims that recent testing shows the presence of PCBs in marine life.
Gov. Perdue says she will not pressure DENR either way to issue Alcoa’s water quality permit, which it needs before it obtains its operating permit. We’ll see what happens if DENR issues the permit.
