Duke to proceed with dredging despite county’s vote to condemn Dillsboro Dam
A week after Jackson County commissioners voted 4-1 to try and save the Dillsboro Dam by seizing it from Duke Energy through the power of eminent domain, the power company has announced plans to begin a six-month dredging operation above the dam.
Duke has been ordered by federal and state regulators to remove 70,000 cubic yards of sediment from the reservoir behind the dam in advance of its planned 2010 removal. The power company agreed to remove the 96-year-old dam as mitigation for its other hydroelectric projects in order to receive new licenses from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Dam removal is part of a Settlement Agreement hashed out over three years between Duke and various stakeholders. In addition to dam removal, that agreement would pay Jackson County $350,000 and provide fishing trails, boat put-ins and other facilities at several lakes and along the Tuckaseigee River.
Jackson County participated in those meetings but did not sign the agreement. County officials have been waging a legal battle with the power company since 2004. After rejecting a confidential offer Duke made as part of court-ordered mediation, commissioners last week voted to move forward with condemnation in order to create a river access park in Dillsboro.
County officials held up Duke’s plans to dredge for about eight months by refusing to issue necessary local permits. Superior Court Judge Laura Bridges ruled in March that the county should issue the documents, but it was May 5 before the power company received the permits.
Duke is planning to carry out the required dredging and proceed with dam removal, according to Fred Alexander, Duke’s district manager for government and business relations.
“We have all the governmental approvals needed to remove the sediment from Dillsboro Pond, and we do not believe Jackson County’s attempt to condemn the Dillsboro Project will be successful,” Alexander said. “Since we are under an FERC Order to remove the Dillsboro Dam and Powerhouse by July 19, 2010, and the (state) 401 water quality certification associated with that order also requires removal of 70,000 cubic yards of sediment before the dam is removed (a six-month task), we need to begin sediment removal right away in order to complete it prior to beginning dam removal by January, 2010.”
The power company will contest Jackson County’s effort at taking control of the dam, Alexander said.
“Duke will vigorously oppose any attempt by Jackson County to condemn the Dillsboro Hydro Project,” he said. “As we have shared with the county, we don’t believe the applicable federal or state laws governing condemnation would allow them to take the Dillsboro Project from us.”
Alexander also said it’s hard to understand why the county is seeking to condemn the land for a park.
“It’s very puzzling to Duke why the county wants to condemn and pay us for our property at Dillsboro when either the town or county will get the Duke property for free once the dam is removed, per the Tuckasegee Cooperative Stakeholder Team Settlement Agreement,” he said.
Jackson County Manager Ken Westmoreland said Tuesday that he doesn’t have a comment with regard to Duke’s plans to dredge.
“They’ve got the permits,” he said. “We wish they’d do 120,000 cubic yards instead of 70,000, because it would benefit the (planned) Dillsboro Heritage Park down the road.”
While declining to comment on Duke’s plan to fight the county’s plans for condemnation, Westmoreland said the power company’s decision is “not unexpected.”
Westmoreland said the county will move ahead with its plans to take the dam and surrounding property through eminent domain, and that he expected the official letter to go out to Duke today (Tuesday). Once that letter is sent, county officials can begin condemnation proceedings any time after 30 days have elapsed. When those papers are filed, the county must have the money necessary to compensate the power company fair market value for its property. That money will be placed in escrow pending appeals, Westmoreland said.
Site preparation is expected to begin late this week on property adjacent to the dam, according to Alexander. This work includes vegetation removal, grading and construction of two settling ponds that will be used to remove fine sediment before the water returns to the river, he said.
“We have developed a detailed plan to ensure we minimize the impact of this operation on the area,” Alexander said. “We recognize this will be an environmentally sensitive operation, and we are taking great care to follow all appropriate environmental and regulatory requirements.”
Contractors will remove and process the sediment from the river as part of the operation. Much of this material can be reused in the construction industry and for other applications, he said.
Duke Energy Carolinas will implement a three-year restoration plan following completion of dam removal activities. All construction areas will be restored to their natural setting and the river’s aquatic life will be monitored, he said.
“There will be a significant environmental benefit once we have removed the dam and powerhouse,” said Alexander. “As a result, 10 miles of the river will be available for fishing, paddling and other recreational activities and fish species will be able to move freely up and down the river.”
Jackson County officials say that any benefit from dam removal won’t offset the loss of the dam, which they contend is historic and a tourist draw for Dillsboro. To date county officials have spent some $250,000 in their legal battle to save it.
The dam was constructed by early industrialist C.J. Harris almost a century ago to provide electricity for his tannery and his home. He later formed the Dillsboro and Sylva Electric Co., which was sold in 1957 to Nantahala Power and Light Co. Duke Power acquired NP&L in 1988 but operated it as a separate entity until 2001 when NP&L became part of Duke Power. The company changed its name to Duke Energy in 2006.
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