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Federal regulators will allow Gov. Bev Perdue to have her say in the ongoing argument over whether Alcoa should be allowed to keep its electric generating plants on the Yadkin River.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled Friday that Perdue could add her voice to those asking the U.S. government to withdraw Alcoa’s right to produce and sell electricity generated by hydroelectric dams along the river.

Alcoa once used the power generated by the dams for a smelting operation that has long since shut down.

“Fifty years later, the smelting works are no longer operational and the jobs and economic opportunities associated with them are gone,” lawyers for Perdue argued in their brief. “A skeleton crew of employees remains to look after the shuttered works and to operate the hydropower facilities. While the State and the surrounding communities have largely lost their stake in the original arrangement...”

The FERC has never withdrawn a license in the way that Perdue is asking for, and the company says it should be allowed to maintain its business. Meanwhile, state legislators are drafting a law to create a nonprofit entity to take over Alcoa’s Yadkin River operations.

Filed

Congress returned from a two-week recess Monday. But just because the honorables have had free time to visit the folks back home doesn’t mean they haven’t been signing on to new legislation or filing their own. Among the bills filed by Tar Heel reps during the past fortnight or slightly before:

Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat: Signed onto National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009, S 714. The measure would create a commission to review the justice system and make recommendation for changes.

“Prison rolls are swelling, non-violent offenders are taking up beds that could otherwise be used for violent offenders, and mentally ill inmates outnumber those in mental health hospitals four-to-one,” Hagan said in a written statement. “We need to take the necessary steps now to ensure that our criminal justice system is a place to help reform those who are incarcerated, not simply hold them until their sentences are finished and they are ready to go out and commit another crime.”

Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican: Co-sponsored the Family Caregiver Program Act of 2009, S 801. The measure would ensure that veterans who needed long-term help would have the choice of being cared for by a family member at home.

“Too often, family members who serve as primary caregivers face significant challenges in caring for their loved ones,” Burr said in a written statement. “It is my hope that this legislation will alleviate the burdens family caregivers face in caring for veterans in North Carolina and across our nation.”

Reps. Brad Miller and Mel Watt: Introduced The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009, H 1728. The measure is designed to curb practices many consider predatory, such as loan schemes that pay mortgage brokers extra for putting buyers in higher-interest rate loans.

“This bill represents an important step toward preventing the predatory and questionable practices that took hold in the mortgage lending industry in the past several years and undoubtedly contributed to our current housing crisis,” Watt said in a written statement. “Mortgage lending reform is a vital piece of the congressional effort to prevent a future financial services disaster of this scale.”

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com