ROCKINGHAM — Duke Energy announced Tuesday that it will hold a series of meetings in the Pee Dee River region to share information on the Yadkin-Pee Dee Hydro Project, which includes Tillery and Blewett Falls lakes.
“Duke Energy received a new license for the hydroelectric project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in April 2015,” according to a press release. “As a result, modifications are being made that may be of interest to the community. Company representatives will provide information and answer questions related to lake levels, lake use permitting, hydro station operations, shoreline management, recreation opportunities and planned improvements.”
The meetings are free and open to the public and will run from 4 to 7 p.m. on the following dates at the following locations:
• June 19 — Norwood Community Center, 247 W. Turner Street, Norwood
• June 20 — South Piedmont Community College – Ingram Room, 514 N. Washington St., Wadesboro
• June 26 — Richmond Community College – Cole Auditorium, 1042 W. Hamlet Ave., Hamlet
• June 28 — James H. Garner Center, 210 Burnette St., Troy
Duke officials say the same information will be presented at each meeting, so residents who are interested only need to attend one.
The project came under fire late last spring, landing the Pee Dee River on a list of the 10 most endangered rivers in the country by American Rivers.
The Pee Dee River was listed as the sixth-most endangered in the nation because the license fails to require flow releases from the Tillery Dam that would restore and protect 19 miles of the river from the dam to the Blewett Falls Reservoir.
According to the American Rivers, the operations at the Tillery project “alter river flows more than 50-fold without warning and flows too low to sustain aquatic life are common.”
Rockingham City Manager Monty Crump metaphorically compared the flows to “turning on a big spigot in an empty bathtub,” adding that the changes could not be replicated in nature.
Crump told the Daily Journal that the city has been involved in a legal battle, which is currently before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, over the water flows for nearly 20 years.
“It’s been a David versus Goliath situation,” Crump told the Daily Journal last year, adding that the problem could be easily addressed by putting more water in the river on a daily basis. “It’s unacceptable to let that happen to the river for the next 40 years without a fight.”
Kim Crawford, a spokeswoman for Duke Energy, said the license “incorporates requirements from state and federal resource agencies, including the Fish and Wildlife Service.”
“These requirements are all designed to protect water quality as well as fish and other aquatic species of the Pee Dee River,” she said
Crawford continued, saying the company has complied with all requirements of the 40-year license “and will continue to perform monitoring to provide information on improvements to aquatic life expected from our operations under the new license.”
For questions or to RSVP, residents are encouraged to notify Duke Energy by email at YadkinPeeDee@duke-energy.com or by calling 800-443-5193, select “0,” and indicate the meeting being attended.
Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_toler.