N.C. Water Rights Committee Announces State Trust Concept

STANLY COUNTY, N.C., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ — The N.C. Water Rights
Committee ( www.ncwaterrights.org ) is announcing the release of the State
Trust Concept, a document that outlines how the State of North Carolina can
establish a Trust with respect to the ownership and management of the Yadkin
Hydroelectric Project on behalf of North Carolina citizens. This process will
obtain and secure the license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) for the Project currently held by Alcoa Power Generation,
Inc. (Alcoa) through the FERC’s current relicensing process and other
available legal means.

The State Trust Concept will honor most aspects of the Relicensing
Settlement Agreement (RSA) negotiated by public and private entities such as
Alcoa in 2008, including a comprehensive drought management plan (the “Low
Inflow Protocol”), water quality improvements for the Yadkin, and new and
expanded public recreation facilities. However, the Trust will provide more
benefits to North Carolina state residents than what the RSA and Alcoa have
proposed, including:

Alcoa has applied for a 50-year license for the Yadkin Hydroelectric
Project to continue to operate dams at High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows and
Falls Reservoirs along the Yadkin River. If it is granted, Alcoa will have
exclusive water rights to conduct hydroelectric operations on the upper Yadkin
for 50 years, and the opportunity to make millions in profits selling that
electricity with little return for North Carolina, at it has been doing with
the Project since its previous licensing in 1958.

However, if the Trust is adopted by State and federal officials now
reviewing the license for the Project, the people of North Carolina would once
again be in control of their water as the Trust would be answerable to the
citizens. The Trust will cooperate fully with the Governor on any and all
drought emergencies throughout the State of North Carolina as well.

The full text of the State Trust Concept can be accessed at the N.C. Water
Rights Web site at: www.ncwaterrights.org/Info/Info005.aspx .

Quotes:

“The State Trust Concept goes far beyond anything Alcoa has proposed for
the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project,” said Keith Crisco, president of the N.C.
Water Rights Committee. “We believe it explains clearly our goals for what
the Project should become over the next 50 years, and how ambitious we are in
desiring improvements for the Yadkin and its benefits for future generations.
We want a river that allows for safe drinking water, recreational
opportunities and good green jobs, and we can obtain these goals if the powers
that be endorse this Trust.”

About N.C. Water Rights Committee:

The N.C. Water Rights Committee is a coalition of North Carolina
businesses and concerned citizens who have joined this statewide effort to
inform citizens of the critical issues and decisions concerning water rights
that affect all North Carolinians now and for many decades to come. For more
information, visit www.ncwaterrights.org .

    Media Contact:
    Michelle Wingate
    MMI Associates, Inc.
    (919) 233-6600
    michelle@mmimarketing.com

SOURCE N.C. Water Rights Committee