Alcoa

This is a photo of a metal building, about a half mile long, that housed the former Alcoa plant in Badin, in Stanly County

In the shadow of Alcoa, West Badin residents want you to visit their town to see the environmental threats they live with every day

BY: - September 25, 2023

The hulking metal shell of the former Alcoa plant in Badin, in Stanly County, is roughly a half-mile long and severs the west side — which is historically and predominantly Black — from the rest of town. Beneath the 700,000-square-foot building pollution from the smelting operations is curdling. For much of Alcoa’s tenure, there were […]

This is a photo of a metal building, about a half mile long, that housed the former Alcoa plant in Badin, in Stanly County

Dishonorable discharge: Runoff from a former industrial site is contaminating an important NC lake

BY: - November 22, 2022

Alcoa's continued discharge of toxics into Badin Lake, a popular fishing and swimming destination, linked to paltry fines, lax state oversight  Alcoa, the eighth-largest aluminum company in the world, whose global reach spans 11 countries, claims on its website that it "operates with excellence" and "cares about people around the globe." The residents of West Badin, in Stanly County, and many of their neighbors across Badin Lake disagree.

After receiving 350 public comments, DEQ “withdraws” from proposed Special Order by Consent with Alcoa

BY: - February 24, 2021

The NC Department of Environmental Quality is returning the Alcoa’s application for a Special Order by Consent and the proposal as drafted “will not be moving forward,” the agency announced today. As Policy Watch reported last month, Alcoa’s spinoff company Badin Business Park had proposed increase the amount of cyanide it discharges into Badin Lake, a popular fishing […]

Just add water: Alcoa proposes discharging cyanide into Badin Lake

BY: - February 3, 2021

To try to comply with state water quality requirements, the company has a creative, if dubious solution. A proposed deal between Alcoa and the NC Department of Environmental Quality would allow the company to increase the amount of cyanide it discharges into Badin Lake, a popular fishing and swimming destination — and a drinking water supply — in Stanly County.

COMMENTARY

The week’s top stories on Policy Watch

BY: - December 20, 2019

1. The Gerrymanderer’s daughter Stephanie Hofeller opens up in exclusive interview about life, family and the explosive files that changed North Carolina politics LEXINGTON, KY. – Almost a year and a month to the day after Stephanie Hofeller turned American politics on its head by reaching out to Common Cause North Carolina about her family […]