Dam could be 'necessary for our survival,' Dillsboro residents say

By Rose Hooper

As part of its relicensing process with the Federal Energy Commission, Duke Power Co. prepared a "trial balloon" for stakeholders to consider. The trial balloon, described by Duke Power District Manager Fred Alexander as a "non-binding, withdrawable test of ideas," includes the removal of most, or all, of the Dillsboro Dam.

While the Tuckasegee Cooperative Stakeholder Team has heard comments for and against dam removal, neither it nor Duke Power has made any recommendations.

Amid the controversy, Duke Power has asked the town of Dillsboro to float its own trial balloon, said Mayor Jean Hartbarger.

"Originally, at the stakeholders' meetings, they said that if the dam removal had one negating vote the team would not recommend its removal. Then they changed it to a majority vote, and now they are asking the town to come up with its own proposal," said Hartbarger, a member of the stakeholders team.

"Obviously, we would all like to see the dam stay. But we need to have some alternatives to propose to Duke," said town board member Emma Wertenberger acting as the meeting's facilitator.

Resident Mildred Sutton said she was opposed to "showing Duke alternatives. If we do, they'll think we've bought into the dam removal, and we certainly haven't." Another resident, Annette Parris, said she didn't want to think about alternatives either. "Instead of concentrating on the alternatives, we need to concentrate on lobbying Duke to keep the dam," Parris said.

"We don't know what Duke plans to do; they haven't made a commitment one way or the other. But you can sure bet other groups, like fish and wildlife, rafters and kayakers, are going to be ready with their proposals if Duke decides to remove the dam. We need to be ready, too," said Wertenberger. "You might not want to think about the alternatives, but tonight we need to talk about them. We need to have something to bargain with."

Alternatives suggested Monday included a $15 million trout park, as well as a museum depicting the site as an historic landmark and Jackson County's first source of electric power. The Dillsboro and Sylva Electric Co. supplied electric power to Dillsboro and Sylva from 1913 until Nantahala Power and Light (now Duke Power/Nantahala Area) purchased the Dillsboro hydroelectric facility in 1957.

T.J. Walker, whose Dillsboro Inn is adjacent to the dam, suggested the possibility of a rural co-op or a private group acquiring and running the dam. Others discussed the town taking over the operation, but Hartbarger said Dillsboro could not afford the liability.

"Now, with the threat of war and the possibility that terrorists could bomb the major power plants, our little dam could be more important than ever," said Sutton.

"It could be necessary for our survival," agreed Parris.

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. The plant capacity is 225 kilowatts, with an average generation of about 1,350 megawatt hours per year.

According to figures cited by Walker, continued operation of the dam could save approximately 2,310 barrels of oil or 650 tons of coal per year.

"Duke has said they don't know what it will cost to remove the dam," said Dillsboro town board member Jim Cochran. "But when they start to figure that cost, it will be very expensive for them. On top of any kind of restitution to the town, think what silt removal alone will cost."

"When you take the dam out, you can't get anything in there. The environmental laws are too tough now," said resident Perry Sutton, who is opposed to the removal. "Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority couldn't even put a water line in the river because of those little elk-toe mussels."

Business owner Lera Chitwood called the dam "the economic livelihood of our town. We depend on tourism, and the dam is a visible invitation for tourists to investigate the area."

Next to the Jackson County Courthouse, Hartbarger said the dam is the county's second-most photographed site.

"The sound of rushing water is a draw, too," said Chitwood. "They make machines that simulate waterfalls, but we have the real thing right here."

The operating license for the Dillsboro Dam expires in 2005. The FERC licensing renewal process requires Duke Power to submit relicensing proposals this July.

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