Mainspring considers Ela Dam purchase

Ela Dam has been in operation since 1925. File photo

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS EDITOR

Franklin-based nonprofit Mainspring Conservation Trust will take the lead in efforts to remove 97-year-old Ela Dam if its board decides in favor of acquiring the 62acre property now owned by Northbrook Hydro II.

“It really checks a lot of boxes in terms of our mission,” said Jordan Smith, Mainspring’s executive director. “At the end of the day, we’ve never led a huge dam removal project, so that’s a little bit intimidating for an organization of our size. Some really serious discussions are happening at the board level as to whether or not we want to continue down the path.”

The coalition behind the dam removal effort had originally envisioned the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians as the end property owner, and in February the Tribal Council unanimously approved a resolution to lead removal efforts. In May, the Timber Committee voted — also unanimously — to recommend that Council approve a resolution committing the tribe to pursue acquiring the property. But when the legislation came before Tribal Council June 2, five of the 12 members voted against it and one walked out prior to the vote. The vote failed.

“Although stunned by the Tribal Council’s action, the coalition immediately reaffirmed its commitment to aggressively pursuing removal of the Bryson Project,” reads a June 10 email from Chuck Ahlrichs — president of dam operator Northbrook Power Management — to Andrew Moore, an environmental specialist with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. “In a June 7th call with NCHII (Northbrook Carolina Hydro II), Mainspring Conservation Trust agreed to consider stepping into EBCI’s role as the acquirer of the Bryson Project, and to continue working with American Rivers and SELC (Southern Environmental Law Center) to raise demolition funding.”

WEIGHING THE OPTIONS

The coalition, which includes Northbrook along with nonprofits, governments and government agencies, began discussing dam removal after a massive sediment release in October 2021 blanketed the downstream river. In evaluations afterwards, state and federal wildlife agencies said the deposits, in places more than a foot deep, were likely devastating to the aquatic communities living there.

The release was accidental and the result of a “faulty, legacy computer code,” said Northbrook Power Management Vice President Chris Sinclair, adding that prior to October 2021 the company had continuously operated dams in the Carolinas without incident for more than a quarter-century. In a Dec. 27, 2021, document sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Ahlrichs said the company was drawing down the dam to evaluate a breach in one of the stoplogs used to control water flow when the programming malfunction occurred. Since then, the company has engaged an IT consultant to find the faulty code, hired a contractor to remove the sediment, engaged a nationally recognized river restoration consultant, and participated in bi-weekly meetings with the dam removal coalition for the past seven months.

Put into operation in 1925, the dam is small, old, and produces very little energy, netting Northbrook only about $55,300 annually. Coalition members say that removing it would have a negligible impact on the area’s energy supply but a large impact on ecosystem health and recreation opportunities.

“We want to be good partners and we want the project to be a success, and we realize that at this juncture the ball is squarely in our court, because there really are no other partners in that coalition that are at the table other than the tribe that can move the project forward on the timeline that’s it’s on,” said Smith.

While it’s an important project, it’s also a big project, and it wasn’t part of Mainspring’s budget or work plan at the beginning of the year. Smith and his board are thinking about how best to use their donors’ money and about how to weigh the risk involved with assuming ownership of a 97-year-old dam.

Mainspring has retained California-based Water and Power Law Group, whose partners have a combined 50 years of experience in dam removal projects, to help it review the purchase agreement, Smith said. He expects his board will make a decision sometime next month.

According to an Aug. 5 email Sinclair sent to Moore and David Brown, a regulatory specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the draft purchase agreement was in an “advanced stage of negotiation,” with Mainspring’s counsel reviewing the title, perFmits and environmental reports. Northbrook contributed $10,000

Legislators, candidates stake out positions on abortion ban

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR

After nearly 50 years of contention and debate over what was once considered “settled law,” abortion has now become a huge issue for voters in both major political parties in the upcoming midterm elections.

Since the June 24 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, some state legislatures — now unencumbered by federal law — have begun enacting their own restrictions on abortion.

On Aug. 17, U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen lifted his own 2019 injunction that had prevented a North Carolina law from taking effect that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, because the constitutional right to a pre-viability abortion no longer exists.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, between 2011 and 2020 more than 224,000 abortions were performed on North Carolina women both in-state and out of state.

The majority of those, more than 64%, occurred before a gestational age of eight weeks. Only 96 abortions were performed in the state after 20 weeks, or about 0.4%. Generally, abortions after 20 weeks only occur in extreme cases of emergency.

The opinions of Western North Carolina’s Republican elected officials on the state’s 20week ban vary considerably, as do those of their 2022 opponents.

“It’s not restrictive enough, I think,” said Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood). “This to me is no different than the decision to kill your child at 2 years old. We treat people criminally for that.”

Pless explained that some years ago, he and his wife had lost a child at 20 weeks.

“I understand that things happen and God chooses when a child will be born,” he said. “We shouldn’t be making that decision. To me it’s still murder.”

Pless’ Democratic opponent in the 118th House District race, Josh Remillard, wouldn’t commit to shortening or lengthening the ban.

“Honestly, the way I generally feel about this issue is that I don’t think the government should be involved in this decision,” Remillard said. “It should be between a woman and her doctor to decide the future of her family.”

Remillard did, however, point out what he sees as hypocrisy in the Republican position.

“The right is concerned there is too much overreach with the Second Amendment, so why isn’t that concern extended to this?” he asked. “If we’re so adamant about life, why isn’t medical care during pregnancy more affordable? Why don’t our teachers get paid more to ensure that our children have a good education? Why is there food insecurity? If we care about being pro-life it can’t end in the womb. It’s got to continue once a child is born.”

Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain) said he’d

had a conversation about abortion Fover the weekend, at a

Haywood March for life scheduled for Oct. 1

The local Knights of Columbus, in conjunction with area pregnancy centers, will host what they say is the first-ever March for Life in Haywood County on Saturday, Oct. 1. The march will begin at the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Waynesville and proceed to the Haywood County Courthouse to “call for life-affirming laws and for an end to the continued expansion of extreme abortion policies in North Carolina.” Speakers for the event will be announced in the near future. For more information visit facebook.com/kofcwaynesville.

• Date: Saturday, Oct. 1 • Time: 10 a.m. • Location: St. John the Evangelist Catholic

Church, 234 Church St., Waynesville

toward the cost of legal review and consultations. If Mainspring decides to move forward, the email said, it will hold an option to acquire the dam while American Rivers will oversee “the bulk of the work” in pursuing funding for feasibility studies and demolition.

“At the most recent Bryson Coalition meeting on Aug. 2, American Rivers indicated that it was confident it would be able to procure funding for the feasibility engineering study to remove the Bryson Project from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission,” the email said. “It also expressed confidence in obtaining funding for ultimate impoundment removal assuming the feasibility study did not present unexpected roadblocks … At the same Bryson Coalition meeting of Aug. 2, Joey Owle of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians indicated that the tribe counsel (sic) had agreed to accept grant funds that could be used towards feasibility studies and Mainspring expenses. Mr. Owle also presented a letter of support from the EBCI Principal Chief’s Office.”

SEDIMENT CLEANUP COMPLETE

Tribal Council’s June 2 vote against purchasing the dam had the potential to end removal efforts. After the sediment dump, Northbrook received violation notices from DEQ and the Army Corps of Engineers that required it to clean up the mess. The work started in December but halted in March to avoid disturbing sicklefin redhorse spawning season. It was slated to resume June 15 if no solid dam removal plan were in place.

In his June 10 email to DEQ’s Moore, Ahlrichs wrote that the change in dam removal partners would delay executing the needed documents and asked that the agency extend its suspension of sediment removal requirements.

“A key element in the negotiated terms of an agreement is the elimination of further remediation and future mitigation associated with the inadvertent sediment release, to ensure all available funds can be committed to a dam removal effort,” Ahlrichs wrote. “Further justification for the continued suspension of sediment removal activities is the current good condition of the river resulting from NCHII’s removal activities and the river’s own cleansing actions.”

Spring brought an “active” fish spawning, Sinclair said, and a third-party review showed that the river had been restored. A July 13 report from Inter-Fluve Inc, the sediment removal company, showed sediment accumulation levels at 3.5% of the volume observed in the initial survey conducted Dec. 16, 2021. “Any negative impacts to the habitat appear to have been temporary, as active spawning aggregations of Tennessee shiner on chub species nests were observed during the site visit, as well as accounts of observations of sicklefin redhorse, brown trout and other fish species from local residents,” the report concluded. “The reduced quantity of sediment that remains in the reach is typical for streams of this nature in the area and will continue to mobilize and re-deposit during periodic high flow events.”

In an Aug. 9 letter to Ahlrichs, Moore wrote that DEQ now considered the violation closed. Northbrook would not have to spend additional funds removing sediment — giving the coalition more time to explore options for removal.

“Over our 25-year history as an organization, we would have done zero conservation work if we didn’t have great landowners to work with,” said Smith. “In this case, Northbrook is the landowner and they’re a great partner and a willing partner, and you have to have that to make a good project. So it’s just a matter of making some decisions at this point.”

Transylvania County event that featured Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Clampitt explained that he was born to a single mother and didn’t meet his father until he was 50 years old.

“My position on right-to-life is pretty significant,” he said. “I grew up in povertystricken Southern Appalachia with a single parent. Mom could have made different decision, but she didn’t and I’m appreciative to my mom. Everybody only has one mother. Always be good to your mother.”

In 2017, Clampitt was a co-sponsor of H163, titled the “Right to Life at Conception Act,” which if passed would have declared that the right to life was vested in each human being from the moment of fertilization.

Brevard Democrat Al Platt, Clampitt’s 119th House District General Election opponent, didn’t want to speculate on hypothetical extensions or reductions of the 20-week limit, saying that we have what we have and that he’s glad we have it.

“I would say that question is relevant in my mind only to the women who find themselves in that situation and their circle of caregivers or spiritual advisors,” said Platt, who turned up at a pro-Roe rally in Sylva on June 26. “I trust women in these situations to know what the right thing to do is.”

Franklin Republican Sen. Kevin Corbin is taking a wait-and-see approach, but doesn’t support lengthening the period during which abortions may be performed in North Carolina.

“For me, that’s a long time, 20 weeks. My son’s wife is 18 weeks pregnant with our third grandchild and she’s very much showing. There’s very much a heartbeat and signs of life,” Corbin said. “I think it’s maybe too long, but I’m going to be respectful of the women in the General Assembly, and if they come with suggestions to shorten that I’d probably go along with it. I certainly wouldn’t go any longer.”

Corbin’s opponent in the 50th Senate District, Graham County Democrat Karen McCracken, took a relatively neutral position on the 20-week ban.

“Based on legislation that’s been passed around the country, I think it’s about right,” McCracken said. “Whatever restrictions we place on abortion we need to pair that with options that make having the baby a more viable option. A woman usually finds out she’s pregnant around six weeks, so that gives time to evaluate those options.”

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Ingles Nutrition Notes

written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath

(MORE) READING RECOMMENDATIONS

6 Books worth reading if you like to learn more about medicine, food history, and agriculture. Let me know what books you’ve been reading lately that have made an impression on you! 1. “Overkill: When Modern Medicine Goes Too Far” by Paul A. Offit, MD. “People shouldn’t be expected to be their own doctors, but they should be informed about their health so taht at the very least, they can ask good questions.” 2. “Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong” by Paul A. Offit, M.D. “…beware of scientific biases that fit the culture of the time…” 3. “Resetting the Table: Straight Talk About the Food We Grow and Eat” by Robert Paarlberg. “Quests for purity in food and farming are not as dangerous as they have been in race or religion, but they are just as lacking in scientific justification, and the advocates can be just as exasperating.” 4. “Food Americana: The Remarkable People and the Incredible Stories behind America’s Favorite Dishes” by David Page. “There are nearly 78,000 pizza restaurants in the country…3 billion pizzas sold a year.” 5. “A History of the World in 6 Glasses” by Tom Standage. “The phrase “bread and beer” was also used as an everyday greeting, much like wishing someone good luck or good health.” 6. “Food in History” by Reay Tannahill. “In the long run it was to be the canning of fruits and vegetables rather than of meat that did most for the diet of the world’s industrial workers…”

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian @InglesDietitian Leah McGrath - Dietitian 800.334.4936