NC Sen. Stan Bingham calls for EPA criminal investigation of Alcoa

The Narrows Dam is one of four hydroelectric dams operated by Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. as part of the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. NC Sen. Stan Bingham is calling for a criminal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency after a whistleblower informed YES! Weekly that Alcoa has knowingly allowed hydraulic oil and mechanical grease to leach from its hydroelectric turbines into the Yadkin River.

CORRECTION: In the Dec. 10 YES! Weekly blog post entitled, “NC Sen. Stan Bingham calls for EPA criminal investigation of Alcoa,” it states that Alcoa spokesman Mike Belwood flatly denied allegations of environmental contamination by the aluminum-maker as a response to a series of questions about the company’s record of environmental stewardship in a Nov. 10 YES! Weekly article. In fact, Belwood declined to answer those questions and issued the following statement:

The information you have is nothing more than the output of a campaign by private interests, lobbyists and politicians to take Alcoa’s private property, which the company purchased and developed with its own funds,” Belwood said. “This kind of government takeover of private property sends a terrible message to any business located in the state or thinking about locating in the state.

The full story is here.

ORIGINAL POST: NC Sen. Stan Bingham (R-Davidson) has requested that the Environmental Protection Agency conduct a criminal investigation of Alcoa Power Generating, Inc., a subsidiary of Alcoa, for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act related to the company’s four hydroelectric dams in the vicinity of Badin Lake, according to a press release issued Dec. 9.

On Nov. 24, Bingham sent a letter to EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Division in Atlanta after a whistleblower told YES! Weekly reporter Keith T. Barber that Alcoa has experienced problems with at least one of its four hydroelectric dams in the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project and those problems could pose a significant environmental and public health risk. The source, who requested anonymity due to concerns about job security, said Alcoa has had a longstanding problem with hydraulic oil and mechanical grease leaching into the Yadkin River in the Nov. 10 edition of YES! Weekly.

To read the full story, visit: http://www.yesweekly.com/article-10805-alcoasaga-part-3-alcoas-record-of-environmental-stewardship-inflames-passions-of-its-opponents.html

In the Nov. 10 article, Alcoa spokesman Mike Belwood flatly denied the allegations of environmental contamination.

“The information you have is nothing more than the output of a campaign by private interests, lobbyists and politicians to take Alcoa’s private property, which the company purchased and developed with its own funds,” Belwood said. “This kind of government takeover of private property sends a terrible message to any business located in the state or thinking about locating in the state.”

Bingham’s action comes on the heels of the Dec. 1 announcement by the NC Division of Water Quality that it had revoked Alcoa’s 401 water quality certificate. A key component of the aluminum giant’s bid to retain another 50 years of control over a 38-mile stretch of the Yadkin River that includes the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project, the water quality certificate was revoked by the state agency after regulators learned that the aluminum-maker submitted “incorrect” information to DWQ as part of its application for a new license and “intentionally withheld information material to determining the project’s ability to meet the state’s water quality standards for dissolved oxygen.”

These revelations came to light during the ongoing lawsuit brought by Stanly County and the Yadkin Riverkeeper against the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)for failing to exercise the full scope of its authority under the Clean Water Act when issuing the water quality permit to Alcoa last year.

“When I heard Alcoa lied to the NC DENR during the trial, I could not help but wonder what else Alcoa might have lied about,” Bingham said in a statement. “I am glad I requested the investigation because it has become more apparent than ever that Alcoa has a long track record of being deceitful to the public and to our regulatory agencies. Unfortunately, Alcoa has seldom been held accountable for their actions.”

Belwood said that Alcoa is aware of the allegations made by Sen. Bingham and company officials are attempting to contact his office to learn more. Belwood said that Alcoa is conducting its own investigation into the allegations of environmental contamination of the Yadkin River, and the company believes its Yadkin operations are in compliance with all state and federal environmental regulations.

“Overall, we have a responsible environmental record,” Belwood said. “The commitments in the [Relicensing Settlement Agreement] will improve our environmental record even more and bring other benefits to the community.”

Human smuggling and human trafficking bills before NC legislature

Two bills currently before the NC General Assembly tackle the related but different phenomena of human smuggling and human trafficking.

Create Crime of Smuggling Human beings, sponsored by Rep. Curtis Blackwood (R-Union) and cosponsored by Rep. Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth), would make it “unlawful for a person to engage in the smuggling of human beings for profit or commercial purpose,” with “smuggling of human beings” meaning “the transportation, or procurement of transportation, by a person or entity that knows or has reason to know that the persons transported, or to be transported, are not United States citizens, permanent resident aliens, or persons who are otherwise lawfully present in the United States.”

Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes told a predominantly Latino audience at an April 1 forum in Greensboro: “This law is too vague, and I personally don’t think they’ll end up getting it passed. I, for one, am not an advocate for a bunch of more laws.” He added later: “I will definitely be calling [legislators] tomorrow to tell them not to [approve the bill]”

Greensboro police Chief Tim Bellamy added, “I think it’s very broad. I would be scared of the police because it’s going to give some police the idea that every time a truck or van goes down the road to stop it and say, ‘Let’s detain someone and question them.’ I have a lot of issues with this legislation.”

The critical difference between smuggling and trafficking persons has to do with consent.

The Justice Department defines human smuggling as “the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person(s) across an international border, in violation of one or more countries’ laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents.” A section.” A 2005 Justice Department report adds that “human smuggling is generally with the consent of the person(s) being smuggled, who often pay large sums of money” and that “the vast majority of people who are assisted in illegally entering the United States are smuggled, rather than trafficked.”

In contrast, the United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, or abduction, of fraud, of deception, of abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”

The NC Human Trafficking Commission bill sponsored by Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird (D-Orange) serves an entirely different purpose and addresses a different issue.

The bill would create a state commission to, among other things, “explore the specific ways trafficking is occurring in North Carolina and the links to international and domestic trafficking” and “to contribute to efforts to inform and educate law enforcement personnel, social service providers, and the general public about trafficking so that traffickers can be prosecuted and victim-survivors can receive appropriate services.”

Cosponsors from the Guilford County delegation include Sen. Katie Dorsett and Sen. Don Vaughan, both Democrats, and Sen. Stan Bingham, a Republican.

More on this from Ben Holder, AKA Troublemaker.