Dlouhy of Bloomberg News reported in late 2022 that the Biden administration. [in an incredibly ignorant proposal, plans to] ban the waste disposal plans that would thwart a long-planned, key gold and copper mine in Alaska, citing the potential harm to the area’s thriving sockeye salmon industry. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a formal recommendation Thursday to bar the disposal of mining waste in Bristol Bay, which hosts the world’s largest harvest of the fish. If finalized, that would effectively block efforts by Pebble Limited Partnership to extract gold, copper and molybdenum from southwestern Alaska.
This action is yet another move to block employment opportunities and revenue for the First Nations' people who fish in the waters of the Britol Bay and surrounding waters on the basis that wastes from the mining would reach the fishing grounds.
Pebble, a subsidiary of publicly-traded Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., has been seeking to mine a world-class deposit of gold, copper, [molybdenum, and other mineral commodities of vital importance to the American economy for more than two decades since its discovery. Leaving this deposit in the ground forces the U.S. to seek handouts from other countries that may or may not be reliable suppliers over the years ahead. Like Russia controlling natural gas in Europe and Saudia Arabia controlling the price of oil and gas (leaving American producers out in the cold), the U.S. could be in even more trouble obtaining critical minerals to run its economy.]
The move represents the penultimate step in a Clean Water Act process that EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller said would “help protect salmon fishery areas that support world-class commercial and recreational fisheries and that have sustained Alaska Native communities for thousands of years.”
[But the salmon fishery areas, (and the drainage into such areas) could easily be controlled or eliminated by appropriate mine planning with oversight by state and federal agencies. The royalties (or partnership %) could also provide the First Nations' people with employment opportunities and revenue to serve their people for decades to come, or to the end of the productive mine's life. See the history of the project to date (here)].
The proposed Pebble Mine has been a source of contention for years. Under former President Barack Obama, the EPA proposed restrictions that would rule out the project. But the agency later withdrew the proposed controls after a legal challenge. A federal judge last year sent the issue back to the EPA for reconsideration.
“The Biden administration has the opportunity to follow through on its commitments by finalizing comprehensive, durable protections for our region as soon as possible,” said Alannah Hurley, executive director for the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, in an emailed statement.
Conservationists have lobbied the Biden administration to definitively kill the mine by wielding the EPA’s broad authority under the Clean Water Act to veto projects involving the discharge of dredged material. Under the recommended determination advanced Thursday, the EPA is proposing to prohibit certain waters in the Bristol Bay region as disposal sites for the discharge of dredged or fill material associated with Pebble Limited Partnership’s mine plan as well as any future proposals to construct and operate a mine tapping the same deposit.
Each year about 30 million sockeye salmon are caught in Bristol Bay. They sell at higher prices than other salmon, supporting local fisheries, processors and sports-fishing companies. [Has anyone checked to see if these salmon populations have crashed from over-fishing, like the snow crabs and other species have experienced recently? This mine would provide a significant, new source of revenue for the First Nations' people in the area and provide the much needed molybdenum, etc.].
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