Mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay Region Threatens a Sustainable Economy

7/28/2019 Mining in Alaskas Bristol Bay Region Threatens a Sustainable Economy

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1 Center or American Progress |Mining in Alaskas Bristol Bay Region Threatens a Sustainable Economy

Mining in Alaskas Bristol Bay Region

Threatens a Sustainable EconomyBy Jessica Goad, Shiva Polefka, Michael Conathan, and Christy Goldfuss

June 27, 2013

Te batle lines are being drawn or wha is becoming one o

Americas larges naural-resources ghs in decades, piting he min-

ing indusry agains deenders o a way o lie and an economy ha

are inexricably linked o one o he Unied Saes mos inac and

producive ecosysems.

Te Brisol Bay region in souhwes Alaska, oen reerred o as

Americas sh baske, is home o he mos valuable salmon shing

ground in he Unied Saes. Tis prisine area suppors he producion

o more han hal o he worlds sockeye salmon, one o he mos popu-

lar and prized ypes o salmon.1 Addiionally, he region suppors sub-

sanial caches o our oher salmon species and herring. 2 In oal, he

salmon sheries o Brisol Bay suppor he equivalen o nearly 10,000 ull-ime jobs and

creae $1.5 billion in annual economic oupu.3 I is a prime example o a conservaion

economy, dened as a susainable economy ha direcly depends on a healhy ecosysem.

Bu a large mineral deposi is locaed a he headwaers o wo o he major rivers ha

ow ino Brisol Bay, and inernaional mining companies are eager o exrac he hun-

dreds o billions o dollars in gold, copper, and molybdenum ound here.4 Exracion o

hese precious meals will require open-pi miningdigging up and separaing he ore

wih oxic chemicalson a massive scale wih very ew precedens.

Because o his, mining in he Brisol Bay region has become exremely conroversial,

drawing he atenion o Alaska Naives, shermen, and oher sakeholders. Specically,

opponens have serious concerns wih one paricular minehe Pebble Projec

which happens o be he urhes along in he process. A projec o he Pebble Limied

Parnership, which eams wo mulinaional mining companies, Anglo American plc and

Norhern Dynasy Minerals Ld., he Pebble Projec would be one o he worlds larges

open-pi mines.

BRISTOL BAY

GULF OFALASKA

KATMAINATIONAL PARKAND PRESERVE

LAKE CLARKNATIONAL PARKAND PRESERVE

COOKINLET

Anchorage

Site of proposed

Pebble Mine Proposedtransportation corridor

Iliamna Lake

Proposed port

Area ofdetail

TOGIAKNATIONALWILDLIFEREFUGE


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While he parnership has ye o release a plan o operaions or he mine or apply or

ederal permis, is basic characerisics have been specically deailed in preliminary

assessmens led wih he U.S. Securiies and Exchange Commission.5 Addiionally, an

economic sudy commissioned by he Pebble Limied Parnership and released in May

2013 provided more deails abou he proposed mine.6 Because he deposis ore is so

diuse, he mine would require no only an open pi housands o ee deep and wo

miles o hree miles wide, bu also ailings reservoirs o hold oxic mine wase ha couldcover more han 7,600 acres, or 12 square miles, and would remain in perpeuiy.7

oday he area where he Pebble Projec would be buil is all bu ree o developmen

and is unlike almos any place in he lower 48 saes. Tis remoe wild region is o he

elecrical grid, and o hea and power heir villages, he Alaska Naive communiies

mus eiher ship in uel or harness renewable resources. Consrucion o he mine will

hereore also require he building o signican amouns o supporing inrasrucure,

including roads, power plans, pipelines, and a por, and he resuling developmen

would have desrucive environmenal impacs or hundreds o square miles. As he PBS

elevision news show FRONLINE repored, No mine o his sizewih huge damsor mine wase ha would sand aller han he Washingon Monumenhas ever been

developed in such an ecologically sensiive region.8

Te Brisol Bay areas undeveloped ecosysem and he salmon shery ha i suppors are

also criically imporan o he regions Alaska Naives, paricularly he Denaina and he

Yupik people. Anhropologis Dr. Alan Boraas, who worked on a waershed assessmen

conduced by he U.S. Environmenal Proecion Agency, or EPA, noed ha he area

suppors he las remaining indigenous culure ha relies compleely on wild salmon

runs. O he approximaely 30 culures across he world ha once relied on salmon,

Boraas noed:

Tere are no culures o he oher almos 30 ha can oday rely on wild salmon because

he salmon runs have been desroyed. Only [in] one placeonly one placecan cul-

ures carry on he radiions o heir ancesors, making he ransiion om prehisory o

now. Te echnology changes, bu he atiudes, many o he belies, and he impac on

he culure are sill here. And has he Denaina and he Yupik o his area.9

While he Pebble Projec would be locaed on lands owned by he sae o Alaska, open-

pi mining requires he discharge o huge amouns o pollued waer, exensive dredging,

and he lling o waerways wih mine wase. Consequenly, EPA and he U.S. Army

Corps o Engineers mus rs issue permis or hese aciviies under he Clean Waer

Ac. Because o he severiy o poenial impacs on Brisol Bays sheries and ribal

communiies, EPA has underaken a comprehensive, scienic waershed assessmen

o he Brisol Bay region o assess hese risks and inorm is uure decision making.10


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In his issue brie, we discuss in deail he exraordinary Brisol Bay region, including is

environmen and is economy, and he proposed Pebble Projec. We nd ha he poen-

ial impacs o normal consrucion and operaions o he projec (even absen a mining

disaser) raise signican quesions abou he compaibiliy o mining wih he salmon

shery in his unouched region. As a resul, we conclude wih wo policy recommenda-

ions aimed a proecing he salmon shery rom indusrial developmen:

Firs, EPA should nalize is rigorous, peer-reviewed assessmen o he Brisol Bay

waershed so ha policymakers have a sound scienic basis or uure naural-

resource managemen decisions and have he daa hey need o proec he regions

sheries and economy.

Second, o reduce risk o he regions naural resources and provide prospecive min-

ing companies cerainy in developing heir business plans, he nal dra o EPAs

Brisol Bay waershed assessmen should clearly ideniy any specic areas ha are

essenial o he healh o he regions salmon socks and would hereore be paricu-

larly sensiive o mining aciviy.

Fulllmen o hese policy recommendaions will enlighen he public, EPA, and oher

governmenal agencies; reduce risk o he environmen and he housands o jobs ha

depend on i; and provide mining companies wih improved cerainy i or when hey

dra developmen plans and permi applicaions.

Mining in he Brisol Bay region, and paricularly he proposed Pebble Projec, presens

an unusually sark choice beween wo dieren pahs o naural-resources develop-

men: he exracion o nie hard-rock minerals and a susainable economy based on a

valuable renewable resourcesalmon. Tousands o jobs in shing and ourism, as wellas he radiional way o lie or he regions naive communiies, hang in he balance.

The Bristol Bay environment: Product ive, sensit ive, and at ri sk

Te key o he Brisol Bay regions economy, as well as is $1.5 billion naional economic

conribuion, is is undeveloped, unspoiled characer. As PBSs FRONLINE pus i:

[I]n he headwaers o Brisol Bay, condiions are nearly perec. Human aciviy

ha ruins salmon habia, such as dam building, logging , arming or road consruc-

ion, is virually non-exisen.11

Te Brisol Bay region encompasses nine major rivers, each wih an array o ribuaries,

as well as Lake Iliamna, he larges lake in Alaska and sevenh-larges body o resh waer

in he Unied Saes. FRONLINE describes he landscape as a vas spongy swamp

crisscrossed wih sreams and puncuaed by small lakes. Abundan ground and surace


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waer are consanly mingling hrough a gravel-based soil ha is highly permeable.12

Consequenly, discharges o waer polluion would likely spread widely and be very di-

cul o clean up and remediae.

Moreover, because his landscape is unspoiled by dams, polluion, or overshing, he

sh socks suppored by he Brisol Bay ecosysem are among he mos bouniul on he

plane, providing one o he las grea examples o he once-innumerable runs o salmonon boh American coass. Every summer, runs o ve dieren species o salmon, includ-

ing pink, chum, chinook (also known as king), coho, and sockeye, begin he reurn jour-

ney rom he ocean waers o Brisol Bay back up hrough a nework o rivers o spawn

and die in he reshwaer sreams where hey hached.

Perhaps he bes way o undersand he unique characer o he Brisol Bay region is o

compare i o places where wild salmon once were abundan. One such region is ha o

he Columbia and Snake rivers o he Pacic Norhwes, where wild salmon once could

be ound in massive numbers. Anecdoal evidence suggess ha during he 1800s, abou

1.5 million salmon and seelhead rou reurned annually o spawn in he Snake River.13

oday, however, because o indusrial developmen, dams, and oher inrasrucure, many

o he runs are now only a shadow o heir ormer grandeur. Consider his: More han

12 dieren runs o salmon on he Columbia and Snake rivers are now ederally lised as

hreaened or endangered, and axpayers are paying millions o dollars o recover hem.

As he Naional Oceanic and Amospheric Adminisraion, or NOAA, wries:

Human aciviies have subsanially reduced he amoun o suiable spawning habia

in he Snake River Even prior o hydroelecric developmen, many small ribuary

habias were los or severely damaged by consrucion and operaion o irrigaiondams and diversions; inundaion o spawning areas by impoundmens; and silaion

and polluion om sewage, arming, logging , and mining.14

Because o hese impacs, salmon runs in he Snake River declined o around 125,000

sh in he 1950s and hen dwindled o only a ew hundred in he 1990s,15 showing how

sensiive salmon populaions can be o indusrial aciviy.

Developmen o he Pebble Projec will require a similar array o supporing inrasruc-

ure, including consrucion o new dams and impoundmens, roads, and pipelines ha

will be a signican source o waerborne sedimen. Tis new inrasrucure will cross

dozens o sreams, each o which could easily block sh passage and eliminae upsream

spawning habia.

Te massive decline in salmon populaions in he Snake River shows jus how easy i

is o lose world-class socks o sh. Wihou grea cauion being exercised, Brisol Bay

salmon ace a similar peril.


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Economic effects

Commercial fishing

Commercial shing is vial o he American economy, and Alaska is he naions crown

jewel or seaood producion. In 2011 Alaska shermen hauled in abou 35 percen oAmericas cach by value, more han hree imes as much as Massachusets, he sae

in second place.16 Alaska shing also provides more han hal o our oal landings by

weigh, more han our imes as much as Louisiana, he runner up.17 Even by Alaskas

sandards, Brisol Bays salmon shery is a huge economic driver: One sudy rom he

Universiy o Alaska ound ha in 2010 i creaed he equivalen o nearly 10,000 ull-

ime jobs across he Unied Saes and $1.5 billion in oal economic oupu.18

Te hriving Brisol Bay ecosysem underpins all o hese jobs because i suppors an

asounding number o wild sh. Since he early 1990s annual upriver runs o sockeye

salmon rom Brisol Bay have averaged more han 37 million sh, he bigges and mosvaluable run o sockeyes anywhere in he world.19 Since 1991 Brisol Bays commercial

sockeye shermen have landed an average 25.6 million sh annually20abou 51 per-

cen o he global sockeye cach. (Briish Columbias Fraser River region comes in a dis-

an second place, conribuing abou 11 percen.)21 And expors o he salmon reurn

$250 million o he U.S. economy,22 comprising nearly 6 percen o all U.S. expors o

seaood in 2010.23

Jus wo o he Brisol Bay waersheds major rivershe Nushagak and he

Kvichakogeher conribue hal o Brisol Bay sockeye landings, equivalen o a

quarer o he world oal. Te proposed Pebble Projec would be locaed a he head-waers o hese rivers.

Tis geographic predicamen highlighs he imporance o careul sudy and planning by

policymakers o proec he dozens o miles o downsream salmon habia ha serve as

he beaing hear o his susainable shery.

Sport fishing and recreation

Te Brisol Bay region also atracs recreaional anglers rom around Alaska and beyond,

who come or boh he salmon runs and world-class rainbow rou. In he las major

sudy on he secor, researchers rom he U.S. Fores Service repored ha spor shing

is he regions mos imporan economic aciviy ouside he commercial salmon har-

ves, wih more han $61 million spen in Alaska in 2005 on Brisol Bay shing rips.24

Wildlie viewing and oher ypes o ourism are also imporan economic drivers, sup-


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poring housands o visis o Brisol Bay annually.25 Te regions unalered ecosysem

and dramaic landscapes harbor hriving populaions o moose, caribou, brown bear,

grey wolves, bald eagles, and numerous oher species once common elsewhere in he

Unied Saes, many o which rely heavily on salmon as a ood source.

Tis exraordinary naural heriage has already inspired he esablishmen o wo o

Alaskas major naional parks nearbyhe Lake Clark Naional Park and Preserve ohe eas o he Pebble deposi and Kamai Naional Park and Preserve o he souh.

Te ogiak Naional Wildlie Reuge is also in he region. Tese naionally recognized

proeced areas and he wildlie hey suppor all conribue o a vial ourism indusry in

he Brisol Bay region.

Alaska Natives

Te Brisol Bay waershed has been home o Alaska Naives or a leas 10,000 years.26 O

he approximaely 7,000 people who live in he Brisol Bay region, 64 percen are AlaskaNaives.27 Teir way o lie depends direcly on he healh o he salmon-based ecosysem.

In an aricle describing he impacs o mining in he Brisol Bay region on Alaska Naives,

Te Redoub Reporer, a weekly communiy newspaper serving he area, wries:

[S]almon is more han jus whas or dinner. Salmon eeds he ways in which he

culure operaes. Funcionally and economically, salmon is he cornersone. Subsisence

shing or salmon is he mos readily available way o ll eezers and panry shelves.28

In parallel wih he regions cash economy, subsisence harves o sh and oher wild-

lie in Brisol Bay represens a criical resource or is naive communiies. Te AlaskaDeparmen o Fish and Game esimaed ha beween 2002 and 2011 he annual har-

ves o wild oods was 1,087 pounds per household, wih salmon comprising 56 percen

o ha oal.29 Te agency also projecs ha replacing wild oods gahered in he subsis-

ence harves would cos beween $4,851 and $14,973 per household bu noes ha he

culural, social and nuriional value o he wild oods would probably be impossible o

replace wih impors.30 Declines in salmon socks rom mining impacs on habia would

mean boh a loss o household income and he erosion o an indigenous way o lie ha

has hrived or millennia.

Consequenly, he op prioriy or policymakers mus be o proec he sh ha serve

as he cenral pillar or subsisence-based communiies and heir way o lie. As Bobby

Andrew, a Yupik elder saed, We can ea gold. Bu we can ea salmon.31


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The proposed Peb ble Pro ject

While here are a leas 16 acive mining claims in he headwaers o Brisol Bay,32 he

Pebble Projec has gained mos o he atenion because i is urhes along in he plan-

ning process. Briish mining gian Anglo American plc and he Canadian rm Norhern

Dynasy Minerals Ld. ogeher orm he Pebble Limied Parnership ha would own

and operae he Pebble Projec. Anglo American is he second-larges mining companyin he world and made $6.2 billion in pros las year.33

As noed above, he Pebble Limied Parnership has ye o apply or permis or he

Pebble Projec, bu preliminary repors and governmen lings provide an idea o is

size, scale, and specics. In addiion, all large open-pi mines share cerain characeris-

ics irrespecive o locaion or owner, which can hereore be expeced wih he Pebble

Projec. And an economic-impac sudy conraced by he Pebble Limied Parnership

and released in May 2013 based is ndings on he exracion o 5.9 billion meric

ons o ore, a mine comparable in size and scale o he plans [he Pebble Limied

Parnership] will ulimaely submi or approval.34

Even under normal mining operaionsree o accidens or naural disasershe

Pebble Projec would likely have signican environmenal impacs on he naural char-

acer o he Brisol Bay headwaers. All o he necessary inrasrucure will cumulaively

bring remendous indusrializaion o a ruly unspoiled landscape, desroying sreams

and welands. According o EPAs dra waershed assessmen o he Brisol Bay region,

even wihou a disaser, mining he Pebble deposi would likely cause he degradaion

or loss o beween 24 miles and 90 miles o sreams and beween 1,200 acres and 4,800

acres o welands, depending on various mine-size scenarios.35

Te mine isel will likely have boh underground and open-pi componens,36 meaning

ha he rocks, rees, and soil overlaying he desired precious meals would all have o

be removed. Te open pi would consis o a large hole in he ground up o hree miles

wide and housands o ee deep, according o FRONLINE.37 Because he ype o

ore presen in he Pebble deposi is very diuse, requiring he excavaion and processing

o vas quaniies o earh and rock o be economical, he Pebble Projec could be he

larges open-pi mine in Norh America and one o he larges in he world.38

Addiionally, he Pebble Projec could generae up o 10 billion ons o wase,39 all o

which would need o be sored on-sie in vas rock piles and ailings reservoirs. Tese

reservoirs, which will hold oxic wase, including he chemicals used o leach ou

he precious meals rom he mined ore, require he consrucion o large dams and

impoundmens and hen he lling in o previously unouched valleys40 (see graphic

below). Depending on he acual size o he open-pi mine, he Pebble Projec will

likely require muliple ailings-sorage reservoirs, each wih muliple dams and earhen

embankmens.41


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In addiion o he mine, wase

rock, and ailings piles, he

Pebble Projec will also require:

A new road nearly 100 miles

long rom he mine sie o he

coas,42 which will necessiaemore han 40 sream crossings

ha could block sh access o

all upsream habia43

Four 86-mile-long pipelines o

ranspor various subsances o

and away rom he mine sie,

including oxic copper slurry44

A new deep-waer por o aciliae he ranspor o concree, diesel, and oher maerials45

And, o course, a major inrasrucure projec such as his needs energy, bu no elecric-

iy grid exiss in he region. Te Pebble Limied Parnership has proposed building a

378-megawat naural-gas-red power plan a he mine sie and anoher 8-megawat

uni a he por,46 enough elecriciy or nearly 300,000 homes47 (compared o he

311,000 housing unis in he enire sae o Alaska48). Because here are no enough

naural-gas resources in he Brisol Bay area, he uel will need o be ranserred o he

sie via one o he new pipelines menioned above.49

In addiion o he likely general operaing impacs o he Pebble Projec, he legacy oopen-pi mining around he world raises serious quesions abou he poenial environ-

menal and economic impacs i a problem does occur. Perhaps he wors-case scenario

would be he ailure o a ailings dam, which reains he reservoir in which oxic min-

ing wase is sored. Tese reservoirs no only desroy he valleys in which hey are buil

bu also pose grave risks o he waers downsream. Failures in he dams ha reain he

ailings could cause downsream salmon habia o be degraded or decades.50 While

EPA considers ailure o a ailings dam unlikely,51 one sudy ound ha beween 1960

and 2000 here were a oal o 72 ailings-dam accidens in he Unied Saes alone.52

Moreover, his risk would remain or decades or even cenuries aer he mine has ceased

operaions. As EPA wroe in is second dra waershed assessmen, accidens and ail-

ures always happen in complex and long-lasing operaions.53

Te Pebble deposi is also locaed wihin he mos seismically acive region on Earh.54

While he exac seismiciy o he mine sie has no ye been sudied, one o he sron-

ges earhquakes ever recorded in Norh Americahe 1964 Good Friday Earhquake,

measuring 9.2 on he Richer Scaleoccurred less han 300 miles away rom he Pebble

deposi. Te remor permanenly shied surace lands over more han 100,000 square

miles and was el more han 1,000 miles away in he sae o Washingon.

Pebble Project tailings dams

The estimated height o the proposed Pebble Project tailings dams compared to well-known existing dams

and landmarks. Waste rock will be used to build massive dams or permanent storage o fooded toxic tailings

(acid-generating rock) and other chemical waste.

Statue ofLiberty151 ft.

WashingtonMonument555 ft.

ThreeGorgesDam594 ft.

HooverDam726 ft.

New YorkTimes Building748 ft. (to roof)

Waste rock

Tailings reservoir

Height of tailings dams

Height in feet

Original groundsurface

1,000

900

800700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Chrysler Building1046 ft.

1,00

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

-100

Source: Wild Salmon Center, Tailings Storage Facilities, 2012, available at http://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/i/pebble/pebbletsfs.php.


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Anoher risk wih any copper-mining operaion comes rom he unearhed minerals

in he wase rock being exposed o air and waer, which can oen cause a reacion ha

orms suluric acid. Tis acidiy hen releases residual copper rom he wase dumps and

ailings reservoirs, creaing a oxic brew known as acid mine drainage, or leachae. While

companies exracing he Pebble deposi would be required o ollow regulaions or

conainmen and reamen o his oxic wase, EPA says in is dra waershed assess-

men ha even under normal operaions, here is a realisic expecaion ha leachaewould escape he collecion sysems55 and ha leakage o leachaes, even in he absence

o accidens, is ineviable.56

Salmon are paricularly sensiive o copper57 and may avoid habia pollued by he

meal, suer suned growh, or even die i exposed o high-enough concenraions.58

EPA preliminarily esimaes ha copper runo rom mining in he Brisol Bay region

such as wha could resul rom he Pebble Projeccould direcly impac salmon more

han seven miles downsream rom he mine and indirecly harm he sh hrough

impacs o heir ood source as ar as 35 miles downsream.59

Dr. Ron Cohen, a proessor o environmenal science and engineering a he Colorado

School o Mines, summarized i his way: No mater how well inenioned your eor,

his is a place where i is almos impossible o ully conrol he risk. I would say: Guys,

don do i here. Wha a mess.60

Tis view is suppored by more han 300 naural-resources scieniss, who recenly

wroe o Presiden Barack Obama o express heir deep concerns wih he prospec

o large scale mining in he unique and biologically rich Brisol Bay waershed o

Souhwes Alaska.61

Or as ormer Alaska Gov. Jay Hammond (R) pu i, Te only worse place o pu a mine

would be my living room.62

Legacy of mining

Hard-rock mining or precious meals is a diry indusry wih a conempible hisory

in he Unied Saes. Te legacy o polluion, abandoned mines, and axpayers le wih

saggering cleanup bills raises many quesions or he policymakers considering large

mining proposals, especially when hey are in places as special and unique as Brisol Bay.

In erms o polluion, EPA has esimaed ha mining in he wesern Unied Saes has

conaminaed sream reaches in he headwaers o more han 40 percen o he waer-

sheds in he Wes.63 A review by wo environmenal consuling groups o 25 mines

ha have operaed since 1975 deermined ha 76 percen o hose mines exceeded

surace-waer or groundwaer qualiy sandards or harmul polluans.64 Te repor also


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deermined ha 85 percen o mines locaed near surace waersuch as he Pebble

Projecs proximiy o he Brisol Bays waershedhad elevaed acid drainage poen-

ial, meaning he leaking o oxic leachae rom he mines.65

Cleaning up hese conaminaed sies is expensive, and axpayers are oen le o oo

he bill when mining companies go bus. A Oregons Formosa Mine, or insance, more

han 18 miles o sreams have been pollued by acid mine drainage, aecing salmon,rou, and oher sh species.66 Aer mine operaions exracing copper, zinc, and oher

meals sopped in 1993, acid-mine-drainage conainmen sysems a he mine began

o ail.67 Te Formosa Mine has become a highly conaminaed Superund sie, and

because he original owners o he mine appear o be deunc corporaions, according

o EPA, axpayers will likely pay he esimaed $20 million in cleanup coss.68 For com-

parison, he Formosa Mine sie produced abou 68,000 ons o ore beore producion

ceased69, and he Pebble deposi is known o conain more han 11 billion ons o ore.70

Te Formosa Mine is jus one o he approximaely 500,000 abandoned mine sies in 32

saes across he counry. EPA esimaes ha cleaning up hese abandoned mines couldcos axpayers $35 billion or more.71

Te Pebble Projecs remoe locaion may pose paricularly difcul issues or cleanup

capabiliy. Cleaning up and reclaiming abandoned mines requires signican equipmen

and human capaciy, which could be made more difcul wih his mines isolaed locaion.

Policy recommendations

As described above, he Pebble Projec could have major impacs on he conservaioneconomy o he Brisol Bay region: Aciviies such as commercial shing, recreaion, and

subsisence harves by naive communiies ha depend on a healhy ecosysem could

be indelibly harmed. As such, he op prioriy o he ederal governmen should be he

proecion o he ecosysem ha underpins he Brisol Bay regions unparalleled salmon

shery. Tis prioriy sems rom EPAs duy under he Clean Waer Ac o mainain he

inegriy o our naions public waers in order o proec sh, wildlie, and recreaion.72

o ulll his responsibiliy, EPA mus rs nalize is waershed assessmen, which will

provide sae and ederal decision makers wih a oundaion o peer-reviewed scienic

inormaion abou he regions ecosysem and naural eaures.

Te nal version o he waershed assessmen should also ideniy any specic areas in

he region ha are o criical imporance o he healh o he regions salmon socks and

sensiive o disurbance rom mining aciviies. Delineaing hese areas will improve he

cerainy or prospecive mining companies, giving hem clear guidance on where devel-

opmen is appropriae. As a resul, his delineaion could also save privae invesmen

and axpayer dollars ha migh be squandered in uile atemps o win ederal permis

or mining aciviies in inappropriae locaions.


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Finalize the Bristol Bay watershed assessment

In response o a peiion by Alaska Naive groups and commercial shermen, EPA

underook a waershed assessmen o he Brisol Bay region o evaluae he poenial

impacs o large scale mining developmen73 in he region. Te rs dra o he assess-

men was released in May 2012; aer incorporaing public commen and exper review

on he documen, EPA released a second dra in April 2013. Boh dras o he assess-men indicaed ha even in he absence o a caasrophe, normal mining operaions

would cause subsanial environmenal damage. Signican public inpu was received on

he rs dra, wih more han 230,000 commens submited. Approximaely 90 per-

cen o hese commens were in suppor o EPAs ndings, according o he Brisol Bay

Regional Seaood Developmen Associaion.74

While he Pebble Limied Parnership and is allies in Congress have criicized EPA or

using wha hey ermed hypoheical mining plans when developing he waershed

assessmen, he agency noed in he second dra o is repor ha:

Like all risk assessmens, his assessmen is based on scenarios ha dene a se o

possible uure aciviies. o assess mining-relaed sressors ha could aec ecological

resources in he waershed, we developed realisic mine scenarios ha include a range

o mine sizes and operaing condiions. Tese mine scenarios are based on he Pebble

deposi because i is he bes-characerized mineral resource and he mos likely o be

developed in he near erm.75

In addiion, he Pebble Limied Parnerships May 2013 economic-impac sudy

projeced jobs and value rom a proposed mine ha is he size o he larges o hree pos-

sible scenarios or producion considered in EPAs dra waershed assessmen,76

indica-ing ha he agencys sudy is realisic and on arge raher han hypoheical.

Furhermore, he scope and ndings o he rs dra waershed assessmen were sup-

pored by a group o 300 independen ecology and naural-resources scieniss in April

2013.77 As hese scieniss wroe in a supporing leter:

We applaud EPA or is eor o esablish a solid science-based summary om which

o evaluae likely impacs o Brisol Bay om large-scale mine developmen. We believe

ha he preponderance o evidence shows clearly ha gold and copper mining in he

Brisol Bay waershed hreaens a world-class shery and uniquely rich ecosysem, and

we urge he Adminisraion o ac quickly o proec he area.

Because i is crucial o undersand he complex ecology and waer resources o he

Brisol Bay region beore any urher seps are aken oward developmen, EPA should

nalize his scienic assessmen so is ndings can be used or uure ederal and sae

permiting decisions.


12/15


Identify areas that are not appropriate for mining waste

In order o build he Pebble mine, he Pebble Limied Parnership (and any oher

companies ineresed in mining in he Brisol Bay waershed) will need o ge numerous

permis, including one rom he U.S. Army Corps o Engineers o dispose o mine wase

ino nearby waerways and welands.

Much evidence already suggess ha mining in he Brisol Bay waershed could have sig-

nican adverse impacs on he regions salmon habia and he associaed commercial

and recreaional indusries. In is nal waershed assessmen, EPA should ideniy any

areas ha are criical o mainaining he healh o he ecosysem and salmon socks and

hereore are oo sensiive o serve as mining-wase sies.

Pinpoining hese highly sensiive areas wihin he Brisol Bay waershed would no only

reduce he risks rom mining aciviies o salmon and he regions housands o salmon-

dependen jobs, bu i would also provide he mining indusry improved cerainy or

is uure permiting and invesmen decisions. Given wha we know abou Brisol Bayssheries and he sensiiviy o he upsream salmon habia o mine aciviies, such

advance planning is well warraned o ensure proecion o he regions sheries and

wildlie beore he approval o any indusrial developmen.

Commercial shermen and salmon processors would also reap he bene o improved

cerainy rom his acion. Every year salmon-dependen businesses mus make major

invesmens and logisical commimens o run heir boas, hire crews, and se up

seasonal processing aciliies wih housands o workers, all based on a reasonable

expecaion o he sh reurning in heir hisorical numbers. Because o is poenial

impacs on sh populaions, unresriced mining in he Brisol Bay region could creaeuncerainy and liabiliy or salmon-dependen businesses, reducing invesmen and

jobs hroughou he indusry.

I is also imporan o noe ha EPA has auhoriy under Secion 404(c) o he Clean

Waer Ac (33 USC 1344)78 o deny or resric he use o any area as a mining-wase

disposal sie should i deermine ha here would be an unaccepable adverse eec

on municipal waer supplies, shellsh beds and shery areas (including spawning and

breeding areas), wildlie, or recreaional areas. Numerous environmenal organizaions,

commercial shing groups, and naive communiies have called on EPA o use his

auhoriy o prohibi he disposal o mine wase in Brisol Bays prisine waers.79


13/15


Conclusion

Alaskas Brisol Bay region is an ousanding example o Americas conservaion econ-

omy, wih a hriving salmon shery ha suppors he equivalen o nearly 10,000 ull-

ime jobs, $1.5 billion in economic oupu, and he well-being and culure o he regions

Alaska Naive communiies. All o his could be pu a risk by proposals o mine in he

Brisol Bay waershed, wih he mos signican hrea posed by he Pebble Projec.

Even barring an acciden or naural disaser, EPAs dra waershed assessmen has indi-

caed ha he Pebble Projec could have major impacs on he undeveloped characer

o he area, including he desrucion o sreams and welands, acid mine drainage, and

he consrucion o huge conainmen srucures o hold oxic ailings ha will las in

perpeuiy. I here were o be a ailure o a ailings dam or oher accidenal discharge

o oxic mining wase, he impacs on he Brisol Bay salmon sheries would be el or

decades o come.

Wih he above acs in mind, EPA should nalize is dra waershed assessmen assoon as possible, so ha i and oher ederal and sae agencies can use he documen

or upcoming permiting decisions. Addiionally, in he nal version o he waershed

assessmen, he agency should ideniy any areas ha are oo sensiive o serve as

mining-wase dumps because hey are essenial o mainaining he healh o he salmon-

based ecosysem and he jobs ha depend on i. aking his acion would allow compa-

nies such as he Pebble Limied Parnership o deermine wheher mining in he region

sill makes business sense.

Te Pebble Projec orces policymakers o decide wheher large-scale indusrial devel-

opmen is compaible wih he unspoiled characer o he Brisol Bay region. I alsorequires hem o compare he relaive coss and shor-erm benes o exracive indus-

ries o hose o a susainable conservaion economy. Te Pebble Projec represens a

key limus es or deermining wha kind o economy and naural-resources policy we

wan in America in he cenury ahead.

Jessica Goad is he Manager o Research and Oureach or he Public Lands Projec a he

Cener or American Progress. Shiva Polefa is a Research Associae or he Ocean Policy

program a he Cener. Michael Conahan is he Direcor o Ocean Policy a he Cener.

Chrisy Golduss is he Public Lands Projec Direcor a he Cener.


14/15


Endnotes

1 Peninsula Processing and Smokehouse, Why buy wildAlaska Seaood: Questio ns and Answers., available at http://www.great-alaska-seaood.com/alaska-seaood-aqs.htm(last accessed June 2013).

2 Matt Jones and others, 2011 Bristol Bay Area Annual Man-agement Report (Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Department o

Fish and Game, 2012), available at http://www.adg.alaska.gov/FedAidPDFs/FMR12-21.pd.

3 Gunnar Knapp, Mouhcine Guettabi, and Scott Goldsmith,The Economic Importance o the Bristol Bay Salmon Indus-try (Anchorage, Alaska: Institute o Social and EconomicResearch, University o Alaska Anchorage, 2013), availableat http://www.bbrsda.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Economic-Importance-o-Bristol-Bay-Full-Report.pd.

4 Elizabeth Bluemink, Pebble mine could be highly protable,company study says,Anchorage Daily News, February 23,2011, available at http://www.adn.com/2011/02/23/1718807/study-shows-developing-pebble.html.

5 Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., Northern Dynasty ReceivesPositive Preliminary Assessment Technical Report or Glob -ally Signicant Pebble Copper-Gold-Molybdenum Projectin Southwest Alaska, Press release, February 23, 2011, avail-able at http://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/

NewsReleases.asp?reportid=444069.

6 IHS, The Economic and Employment Contributions o aConceptual Pebble Mine to the Alaska and United StatesEconomies (2013), available at http://corporate.pebblepart-nership.com/les/documents/study.pd.

7 Joel R. Reynolds, Taryn Kiekow, and Matthew Skoglund,Brie on Behal o the Natural Resources Deense Councilin Support o Petitions to the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency or Action Regarding the Proposed Pebble MineUnder Section 404(c) o the Federal Water Pollution ControlAct (Santa Monica, Caliornia: Natural Resources DeenseCouncil, 2012), p. 14, available at http://docs.nrdc.org/land/les/lan_12040201a.pd.

8 Blaine Harden, Treasure Hunt: The Battle Over AlaskasMega Mine, FRONTLINE, July 23, 2012, available at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/rontline/environment/alaska-gold/treasure-hunt-the-battle-over-alaskas-mega-mine/.

9 Jenny Neyman, Last o the salmon people EPA assess-ment describes culture o Natives still supported by wildsalmon, clean water, The Redoubt Reporter, November14, 2012, available at http://redoubtreporter.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/last-o-the-salmon-people-epa-assess-ment-describes-culture-o-natives-still-supported-by-wild-salmon-clean-water/.

10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,An Assessment oPotential Mining Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems o Bristol Bay,

Alaska, Second External Review Drat (2013), available athttp://www.epa.gov/ncea/pds/bristolbay/bristol_bay_as-sessment_erd2_2013_vol1.pd.

11 Harden, Treasure Hunt.

12 Ibid.

13 John Harrison, Endangered Species Act and Columbia Riversalmon and steelhead, Northwest Power and Conserva-

tion Council, November 22, 2011, available at http://www.nwcouncil.org/history/endangeredspeciesact.

14 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAATech Memo NMFS F/NWC-200: Snake River Chinook Salmon(cont.): Summary o Biological Inormation (U.S. Departmento Commerce, 1991), available at http://www.nwsc.noaa.gov/publications/techmemos/tm200/sum.htm.

15 Harrison, Endangered Species Act and Columbia Riversalmon and steelhead.

16 NOAA Oce o Science and Technology, Annual Commer-cial Landing Statistics, available at http://www.st.nms.noaa.gov/commercial-sheries/commercial-landings/annual-landings/index (last accessed June 2013).

17 Ibid.

18 Knapp, Guettabi, and Goldsmith, The Economic Impor-tance o the Bristol Bay Salmon Industry.

19 Alaska Department o Fish and Game Division o Commer-cial Fisheries, 2012 Bristol Bay Salmon Season Summary,

Press release, September 21, 2012, available at http://www.adg.alaska.gov/static/home/news/pds/newsreleases/c/226013052.pd.

20 Jones and others, 2011 Bristol Bay Area Annual Manage-ment Report.

21 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Global SockeyeSalmon Production, available at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/les/sockeye-piechart_0.jpg (last accessedJune 2013).

22 Knapp, Guettabi, and Goldsmith, The Economic Impor-tance o the Bristol Bay Salmon I ndustry.

23 Timothy Hansen, Linda Chaves, and Stephane Vrignaud,Seaood Export Facilitation: The Latest and Greatest onWhat you Need to Know (Washington: National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration, 2011), available at www.seaood.nms.noaa.gov/Boston_2011_EUPresentation.pptx.

24 John W. Dueld and others, Economics o Wild SalmonEcosystems: Bristol Bay, Al aska,USDA Forest Service Proceed-ings RMRS-P-49 (2007), available at http://www.s.ed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p049/rmrs_p049_035_044.pd.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 David Holen and Terri Lemons, An Overview o theSubsistence Fisheries o the Bristol Bay Management Area(Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Department o Fish and GameDivision o Subsistence, 2012), p. 2, available at http://www.adg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/regprocess/sheries-board/pds/2012-2013/bristolbay/sp2_sp2012-005.pd.

28 Neyman, Last o the salmon people.

29 James A. Fall, Theodore M. Krieg, and David Holen, AnOverview o the Subsistence Fisheries o the Bristol Bay

Management Area (Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Departmento Fish and Game Division o Subsistence, 2009), p. 3, avail-able at http://www.subsistence.adg.state.ak.us/download/indexing/Special%20Publications/SP2_SP2009-007.pd.

30 Ibid.

31 Taryn Kiekow, Pebble Mine: We Cant Eat Gold, Switch-board: Natural Resources Deense Council Staf bl og, April1, 2013, available at http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/tkiekow/pebble_mine_we_cant_eat_gold.html.


Alaska, p. 1314.

33 Clara Ferreira-Marques, Anglo promises austerity aterposting rst loss in a decade, Reuters, February 15, 2013,available at http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/15/uk-angloamerican-earnings-idUKBRE91E09H20130215.

34 IHS, The Economic and Employment Contributions o aConceptual Pebble Mine to the Alaska and United StatesEconomies.


Alaska, p. ES-14.

36 Alaska Department o Natural Resources: Mining, Land &Water, Pebble Project, available at http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/mining/largemine/pebble/ (last accessed June 2013).

37 Harden, Treasure Hunt: The Battle Over Alaskas MegaMine.
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15/15

38 Reynolds, Kiekow, and Skoglund, Brie on Behal o theNatural Resources Deense Council in Suppor t o Petitionsto the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or ActionRegarding the Proposed Pebble Mine Under Section 404(c)o the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

39 Ibid. at 13.


Alaska, pp. 416.

41 Hassan Ghafari and others, Preliminary Assessment O the

Pebble Project, Southwest Alaska (Vancouver, British Colum-bia: Wardrop and Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., 2011), pp.349, 354, available at http://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/i/pd/ndm/Pebble_Project_Preliminary%20Assess-ment%20Technical%20Report_February%2017%202011.pd .

42 Ibid. at 8.

43 Federal Highway Administration, Design For Fish Passageat Roadway - Stream Crossings: Synthesis Report, availableat http://www.hwa.dot.gov/engineering/hydraulics/pubs/07033/3.cm (last accessed June 2013).

44 Ghafari and others, Preliminary Assessment O the PebbleProject, Southwest Alaska, p. 8.

45 Ibid.

46 Ibid.

47 With one megawatt o generation capacity equal to 750houses to 1000 houses. See Ernest Orlando, How ManyHouses Can 1 MW Supply?, available at http://enduse.lbl.gov/ino/CA_Presentation/sld011.htm (last accessed June2013).

48 U.S. Census Bureau, State & County QuickFacts: Alaska,available at http://quickacts.census.gov/qd/states/02000.html (last accessed June 2013).

49 Ghafari and others, Preliminary Assessment O the PebbleProject, Southwest Alaska, p. 10.


Alaska, p. ES-18.

51 Ibid.

52 International Commission o Large Dams, Tailings damsrisk o dangerous occurrences: lessons learnt rom practical

experiences (2011). As cited in Dave Chambers, Rober t Mo-ran, and Lance Trasky, Bristol Bays Wild Salmon Ecosystemsand the Pebble Mine: Key Considerations or a Large-ScaleMine Proposal (Portland, Oregon, and Arlington, Virginia:Wild Salmon Center and Trout Unlimited, 2012), available athttp://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/pd/PM-Report.pd.


Alaska, p. 7-1.

54 Plate tectonics around the Pacic Ocean, available athttp://earth.rice.edu/mtpe/geo/geosphere/topics/ring_o_re.html (last accessed June 2013).


Alaska, p. 14-2.

56 Ibid.

57 Ecology and Environment, Inc., An Assessment o EcologicalRisk to Wild Salmon Systems rom Large-scale Mining in theNushagak and Kvichak Watersheds o the Bristol Bay Basin(2010), p. 59, available at http://www.nature.org/ourinitia-tives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/alaska/explore/ecological-risk-assessment-nushagak-kvichak.pd.

58 Phyllis Weber Scannell, Efects o Copper on Aquatic Spe-cies: A review o the literature (Anchorage, Alaska: AlaskaDepartment o Fish and Game Division o Habitat, 2009),available at http://www.adg.alaska.gov/static/home/library/pds/habitat/09_04.pd.


Alaska, p. ES-15.

60 Harden, Treasure Hunt.

61 Letter rom Dominick A. DellaSala and Jack Williams toPresident Barack Obama, April 26, 2013, available at http://www.pewenvironment.org/uploadedFiles/PEG/Publica-tions/Other_Resource/min-bristol-bay-scientists.pd.

62 Edwin Dobb, Alaskas Choice: Salmon or Gold,NationalGeographic(2010), available at http://ngm.nationalgeo-

graphic.com/2010/12/bristol-bay/dobb-text.

63 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Liquid Assets 2000:Americans Pay or Dirty Water, available at http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/economics/liquidassets/dirtywater.cm (last accessed June 2013).

64 James R. Kuipers and others, Comparison o Predicted andActual Water Quality at Hardrock Mines: The reliability opredictions in Environmental Impa ct Statements (Butte,Montana, and Boulder, Colorado: Kuipers & Associatesand Buka Environmental, 2006), available at http://www.earthworksaction.org/les/publications/ComparisonsRe-portFinal.pd.

65 Ibid.

66 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Completes FirstPart o Study to Defne Contaminants at Formosa Mine Super-und Site (2012), available at http://www.epa.gov/region10/

pd/sites/ormosamine/Formosa_Mine_FS_2_12.pd.

67 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Superund Factsheet:Formosa Mine Site (2008), available at http://www.epa.gov/region10/pd/sites/ormosamine/Formosa_Mine_FS_Aug_2008.pd.

68 Bureau o Land Management, Formosa Mine, available athttp://www.blm.gov/or/landsrealty/aml/ormosa.php (lastaccessed June 2013).

69 CDM Federal Programs Corporation, Final Data SummaryReport: Formosa Mine Superund Site, Douglas County,Oregon (2009), p. 24, available at http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/sites/Formosa/$FILE/ormosa_dsr.pd.


Alaska, p. ES-10.

71 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Liquid Assets 2000:

Americans Pay or Dirty Water.

72 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Water ActSection 101(a), available at http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/101a.cm (last accessed June 2013).


Alaska, p. i.

74 Margaret Bauman, Emotions run high over EPAs Bristol Baywatershed study,Alaska Dispatch, February 9, 2013, avail-able at http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/emotions-run-high-over-epas-bristol-bay-watershed-study.


Alaska, p. ES-10.

76 IHS, The Economic and Employment Contributions o a

Conceptual Pebble Mine to the Alaska and United StatesEconomies.

77 Letter rom DellaSala and Williams.

78 33 USC 1344, available at http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/33/1344.

79 Save Bristol Bay, Stop Pebble Mine, available at http://www.savebristolbay.org/About%20The%20Bay/The%20EPA%20can%20Stop%20Pebble%20Mine(last accessedJune 2013).
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Documents

Mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay Region Threatens a Sustainable Economy