Jackson Co. vs. Duke Energy over Dillsboro Dam
DILLSBORO–Two months ago, the courtroom slap-fight between Jackson County and Duke Power over the fate of the Dillsboro Dam seemed to have descended nearly to the level of farce.
Duke Energy, which holds a monopoly on electricity production in this area and has many hydroelectric projects here, wants to tear down the dam as part of an enormous licensing agreement, reached years ago. Jackson County’s Commissioners long ago decided that the county didn’t get enough of a cash settlement in the agreement, and that the dam, which is more or less the centerpiece of the little town of Dillsboro, should stay.
Jackson County, with the firepower of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Duke Energy, half the environmentalists and a growing segment of the population arrayed against it, seemed to be pouring tens of thousands of dollars down a questionable hole in lean economic times.
As the court hearings droned on, local reporters tried to take accurate notes while dreaming of things they’d rather be doing — like driving bamboo shoots under their fingernails.
Then, things took an interesting turn.
After being forced in court to release the necessary permits for Duke to begin dredging silt from behind the dam, and as court-ordered mediation efforts were winding up, Jackson County quietly paid a consulting firm almost $20,000 to design a large river park and riverwalk along both banks of the Tuckaseegee above, at and below the dam location.
The commissioners now say they’ll use eminent domain to take the dam from Duke Energy. The eminent domain possibiliy has been mentioned before, but there are only certain circumstances that are grounds for eminent domain under North Carolina law. Public recreation is one of them.
The Sylva Herald newspaper editor Lynn Hotaling points out in this blog post, though, that the original agreement terms call for the land alongside the river to be turned over to the town of Dillsboro to be used for public recreation. Dillsboro has since relinquished its rights to that property to the county. The upshot is that if the county condemns the land, it’ll pay Duke fair market value, but if Duke removes the dam, the power company will give the county the land for free.
The Sylva Herald has taken an open editorial stance against the county’s legal efforts.
Meanwhile, Duke has announced that it will accelerate its efforts to remove the dam, and will accomplish as much as possible before condemnation proceedings interfere.
Tags: dillsboro dam, duke energy, electricity production, federal energy regulatory commission, hydroelectric projects, Smoky Mountain News, Sylva Herald
Related posts:
AW has a good take on the issue here: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/30441/display/full/
Would that our commissioners moved beyond a goal that at best seeks to preserve something of questionable value that is sentimental and symbolic for only some of their constituency. Imagine all the tax dollars we’ve spent in this wrongheaded fight (a) staving layoffs in our county schools, (b) funding more public transportation or other public works, (c) helping Dillsboro build a river park, probably with Duke’s help, or (d) reducing taxes for lower-income families.
A guest column in today’s ACT is spot on the mark:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090617/OPINION03/90616032/1202/opinion#pluckcomments