Fearing that toxic wastes from the mine could hurt the wild salmon population and adversely affect the fishing industry in her home state, Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell has entered the fray. On Monday, she asked the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to consider using the Clean Water Act – if necessary – to stop the proposed Pebble Mine project on Bristol Bay.
Cantwell, a second-term senator and a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is the first senator to issue such a call. She’ll face opposition from Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young, who already has introduced a bill that would strip the EPA of its authority to halt the project.
While supporters are excited about the mine’s potential to create thousands of jobs, environmental groups and other critics worry that the project would have a devastating impact on wildlife, including seals, caribou, moose, grizzly bears and migratory birds. The bay supplies nearly half of the world’s annual sockeye salmon harvest.
Opponents of the mine say it could dump up to 10 billion tons of toxic waste in the heart of the Bristol Bay watershed. And they say the sheer scope of the project – up to two miles wide and 1,700 feet deep – would be certain to hurt animals that depend on the habitat.
Cantwell is making her request as the EPA conducts a scientific analysis of the proposed mine that’s expected to be released this fall.
If she’s successful, she’ll help thwart a project that could result in the extraction of more than 107 million ounces of gold and 80 billion pounds of copper from a 150-square-mile site, an area as large as the city of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Cantwell says she’s been contacted by thousands of Washington state residents who have expressed concern about “the potentially catastrophic and widespread long-term impacts” of the mine, which she described as “the world’s largest man-made excavation.”
The mine would capitalize on one of the world’s largest concentrations of gold, copper, silver and molybdenum, a mineral that’s mixed with steel to provide resistance to heat, among other things. The project is proposed by The Pebble Partnership, which includes Northern Dynasty Minerals and mining giant Anglo American.
With the mine requiring permits from at least 67 state and federal agencies, officials with the partnership say it would be environmentally responsible and thoroughly reviewed before any metals are extracted. According to its website, the partnership would make sure “that all of the areas disturbed by exploration are returned to their full capability and usefulness.”
The mine has sparked a fierce advertising campaign in Alaska as local residents gear up for a vote related to the project in October. Last month, the Alaska Supreme Court approved a ballot initiative that would restrict permitting of any large project that could harm salmon runs.
In a draft of her letter to the EPA, Cantwell says that wild salmon populations around the globe already are “disappearing at an alarming rate” and that Bristol Bay is one of the only remaining undeveloped salmon habitats.
And she says the issue is particularly crucial to Washington state’s economy, with Bristol Bay providing $113 million a year for its commercial fisheries.
“Nearly a thousand Washingtonians hold commercial fishing permits in Bristol Bay, supporting thousands more fishery jobs in my state,” Cantwell says in the letter.
Opponents of Cantwell’s plan want to make sure that the EPA doesn’t try to use the Clean Water Act to stop the mine project.
Rob Hotakainen: 202-383-6000
rhotakainen@mcclatchydc.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/politics
