Dillsboro Dam, located on the Tuckaseegee River, is the cornerstone of a comprehensive Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing process that includes whitewater releases on the Cascades and Upper Nantahala (Class IV+ – III) as well as scheduled boating flows on the West Fork of the Tuckaseegee (Class IV). These releases have been delayed due to the ongoing dispute over the removal of Dillsboro Dam.
The following story appeared in the April 2 edition of The Sylva Herald:
Duke wins in court; county ordered to issue permits
By Lynn Hotaling
Jackson County last week suffered another defeat in its ongoing legal battle with Duke Energy over the removal of the Dillsboro Dam.
Superior Court Judge Laura Bridges March 23 ordered county officials to “immediately process and issue” permits the power company needs to begin dredging sediment behind the dam.
Bridges ruled in favor of Duke across the board, and her order states that the county is “without authority to deny (Duke) the Land Development Compliance Permit or Floodplain Development Permit” the power company has applied for. Bridges made that determination based on “the pre-emptive nature of the Federal Power Act” and writes that Jackson County cannot require Duke to seek other local permits in order to remove sediment from the Dillsboro Reservoir because the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s order requiring Duke to remove the sediment was issued “pursuant to the FPA.”