Alcoa
In the shadow of Alcoa, West Badin residents want you to visit their town to see the environmental threats they live with every day
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 […]
Dishonorable discharge: Runoff from a former industrial site is contaminating an important NC lake
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
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
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.
The week’s top stories on Policy Watch
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 […]