EPA sets Pebble mine listening sessions

Published on July 26th, 2010

By MARGARET BAUMAN

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson is in Alaska this week to meet with the Pebble Limited Partnership in Anchorage, then travel to Dillingham to hold a listening session with local, economic and tribal groups.

EPA officials said that Jackson would meet today with officials of the Pebble Limited Partnership.

On Tuesday Jackson will fly to western Alaska to meet with residents of Chefornak, Kasigluk and Napakiak before arriving for another meeting in Bethel. On Wednesday the EPA administrator will fly to Dillingham to tour the boat harbor and beach to observe coastal erosion areas, then have lunch with the Curyung Tribe and Bristol Bay Native Association, followed by a closed meeting with tribal governments.

Later that afternoon, Jackson will hold a listening session with the Bristol Bay Native Corp., Bristol Bay Borough and other stakeholders who want to share their thoughts on the Pebble mine project.

Jackson has listed as her priorities reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality, managing chemical risks, cleaning up hazardous waste sites, and protecting America's water. She is an honors graduate of Tulane University's School of Chemical engineering and holds a master's degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University.

"I'm very glad they are coming out here," said Robin Samuelsen, a Bristol Bay fisherman and president and chief executive officer of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. "It's about time that they conduct hearings in the Bristol Bay region.

"The last poll I saw done showed that 82 percent were opposed to the mine," he said.

Fishermen, fisheries scientists and a number of environmental organizations have voiced concern that the building the mine at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed could threaten the entire Bristol Bay watershed.

Proponents of the mine argue that the advanced technologies they are employing would allow the mine and fisheries to coexist. They also argue that the vast deposits of copper, gold and molybdenum in the mine area, which lies on state land designated for mining, would bring opportunities for major economic development to the region.

Commercial, sport and subsistence fisheries have for decades been the mainstay of the economy of Southwest Alaska. For thousands of years before the commercial fisheries began, the land and water provided an environment that sustained area people, wildlife, fish and marine mammals. Current commercial fishing, plus sport fishing and hunting enterprises contribute thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to the regional economy.