Even as Gov. Mike Easley was calling the 2002 drought a major disaster, documents show that the exclusive private golf club where he belonged pumped 6 million gallons of water meant for Jordan Lake to keep its greens alive.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported yesterday that documents from Chatham County, state and federal governments show that the Old Chatham Golf Club was allowed to pump the water from a creek leading to Jordan Lake for two weeks beginning July 18, 2002.
Some in state government questioned the use.
"Is using water from Jordan Lake to water a golf course a good use of the water?" Tom Fransen, who was then the state's river basin management chief, asked in an e-mail. "When we are looking at reducing water quality releases, it does not look good to be supplying a special request for golf-course watering."
Records also show, however, that it rained in that same period, and the lake level barely dropped.
Just a year earlier, in 2001, club directors had voted to waive the governor's membership dues, saving Easley about $50,000 while he was in office. The newspaper said that Easley didn't reveal the break on financial disclosure forms.
Easley did not respond to The News & Observer's requests for an interview. Easley, who finished his second term in January, is the subject of state and federal criminal investigations in several areas, including: his family's use of vehicles; free flights; a job he helped create for his wife at N.C. State University; and a discount he took on a coastal land purchase.
On June 3, 2002, the golf club's president, Stuart Frantz of Raleigh, made a written request to pump water from Northeast Creek -- a request that eventually was considered by local, state and federal agencies that had different oversight roles.
The state owns the water in Jordan Lake. But the water is allocated to such local governments as Cary and Chatham County, which pay for the water. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages the lake, and the golf club wanted permission to pump from a spot on federal property.
Chatham commissioners, responding to Frantz's request, unanimously agreed June 3 to let the club pump as much as 450,000 gallons a day for up to three months. The water would be counted against the county's daily allocation from Jordan Lake, because the county was not drawing all of the 4 million gallons a day that it was allowed.
The golf club paid the county $10,000 for the water. However, Fransen, who is now deputy director of the state Division of Water Resources, discouraged the Chatham County manager and the golf club's contact from proceeding in June.
The state's files show that after Fransen questioned the golf club's request, he was contacted by higher-ups. Jim Mead, a state environmental engineer, wrote in a memo that the Governor's Office had contacted Dempsey Benton, the No. 2 person at the state environmental agency, about the matter three weeks earlier.
Benton heard from someone in the Governor's Office, then called Fransen, according to the memo.
John Morris, who was then head of the state Division of Water Resources, said he doesn't recall the memo that was sent to him detailing the interest from higher-ups in state government, or getting pressure to help the golf course.
Two days later, Easley issued a controversial directive that local water systems and businesses reduce water use by 20 percent. On July 17, he called the drought a major disaster and sought federal aid. Old Chatham Golf Club's water was not affected by Easley's directive.
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