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Policies & IssuesJul 20, 2014
EPA deals another blow to Alaska mine plan
The EPA said that constructing a copper and gold mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay would produce enough waste to fill at least 880 football stadiums and have “unacceptable” adverse impacts on the ecosystem.
Bristol Bay supports the world’s largest runs of sockeye salmon, producing about half of the world supply of this fish. No hatchery fish are raised or released there; all the salmon caught by the bay’s fishermen are wild. Photo credit: Ben
Washington--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that constructing a huge open-pit mine at the headwaters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay would produce enough waste to fill at least 880 football stadiums and have “unacceptable” adverse impacts on the eco-system.
The administrator for Seattle-based Region 10 of the EPA made these statements in a Proposed Determination on the Pebble mine that came out Friday. The agency published the report following its decision in February to invoke its authority under the Clean Water Act, or CWA, to take a closer look at the project, which would be North America’s largest open-pit copper and gold mine.
RELATED CONTENT: Pebble mine plans on hold after EPA action
Invoked only 13 times in its 42-year history, the CWA allows the EPA to prohibit, restrict or flat-out deny the use of any defined area in U.S. waters as a disposal site if it determines that the discharge of material into those waters would harm fishery areas.
In its determination, the EPA regional administrator said construction of a mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay would result in loss of streams, wetlands, lakes and ponds and/or result in streamflow alterations. The administrator proposed the EPA “restrict the discharge of dredged or fill material related to mining the Pebble deposit into the waters of the U.S.”
Bonnie Gestring of environmental group Earthworks, who has been working to stop the Pebble project for a decade, said while the EPA’s determination on dumping in the case won’t block construction of the mine entirely, it is hard to conceive how the mine could operate with these type of disposal restrictions in place.
Northern Dynasty Minerals, the sole company still seeking to develop the Pebble mine, has a federal lawsuit pending that seeks to halt the EPA’s use of the CWA in the case, claiming the agency overstepped its authority by enacting the CWA to examine Pebble.
In a statement released Friday, Pebble Partnership CEO Tom Collier said they fully intend to continue their litigation against the EPA in order to "halt the preemptive and unprecedented regulatory process ... and invalidate the conditions proposed by EPA Region 10."
Pebble Partnership is owned by Northern Dynasty.
RELATED CONTENT: BJ’s signs Pebble pledge, mine remains in limbo
Meanwhile, mine opponents, which include more than 100 jewelers and retailers who sell fine jewelry, said the EPA’s ruling was yet another victory for their side.
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“We applaud the EPA for taking this vital next step under the Clean Water Act to safeguard Bristol Bay and the communities and fishery it supports,” said Mike Kowalski, chairman and CEO of Tiffany & Co., one of the many retailers that has pledged never to source gold from Pebble if it is constructed.
The next step in the CWA process is for the regional EPA to solicit and review public comments, which it is doing now through Sept. 19 on its website, and develop a final determination on limiting waste disposal from the mine, which it will then take to EPA headquarters in Washington.
After another consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, an EPA official in Washington will make the final call on any prohibitions or restrictions on mining the Pebble deposit.
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