Stakeholder team member resigns

By Rose Hooper

The stakeholder team, organized to help prepare a licensing renewal proposal for Duke Power to submit to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, recommended removing the Dillsboro Dam.

"I'm resigning from that team so I can concentrate on restoring the dam," said Walker, who plans to form an environmental foundation for spearheading his project.

Walker is expected to present his proposal to the town of Dillsboro at its next meeting Monday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m.

"Another reason I am resigning is that as a stakeholder we have been told not to speak publicly about our meetings or findings, especially to the media. I, for one, think the public needs to be aware of what is going on," Walker said.

"The dam is an important cog for the Tuckaseigee River," he said. "It generates power, it attracts tourists, it acts as a flood control, as well as sediment control, it creates a cold water wetland, and it contributes to the water's overall health."

On a personal note, Walker said his bed and breakfast business could not exist without the dam.

In an earlier draft proposal for Duke, the stakeholder team recommended removing the dam, beginning in 2005, and for the town of Dillsboro to acquire Duke's hydro landholdings there.

Duke District Manager Fred Alexander said he hopes the stakeholder team can reach a consensus by November.

In addition to that consensus, for the dam to be removed, Alexander said, studies must show that the removal is environmentally responsible and economically feasible.

The Dillsboro plant is the smallest of Duke's 31 hydro plants and is the second smallest hydro facility in North Carolina licensed by FERC. Built in the early 1920s, the plant was purchased from Dillsboro & Sylva Electric Company by Nantahala Power and Light in 1957. Duke Power purchased NP&L in 1988 and the service area is now known as the Nantahala Area of Duke Power.

Back to Archive: 09/26/02.