KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
On this week’s Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: Izzy Ross reports on permanent protections for Bristol Bay, Anna Rose MacArthur on the Donlin Mine water quality certificate, and Miriam Trujillo on robotic sea gliders!
Permanent Protections for Bristol Bay Izzy Ross, KDLG
A coalition of Pebble Mine opponents traveled to Washington, D.C. last week (5/09-13). Their goal was to push the Environmental Protection Agency to permanently protect Bristol Bay against future developments like the proposed Pebble Mine. KDLG’s Izzy Ross has more.
And a disclosure: Michael Jackson is the president of Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, which is a financial supporter of KDLG.
I think it could work for the host to add this after the package:
HOST: The push for permanent protections isn’t new. Bristol Bay Tribes petitioned the EPA to use the Clean Water Act to veto Pebble over a decade ago. The agency under the Obama administration proposed a “preemptive veto” in 2014 to restrict certain mining activities before Pebble’s proposal was on the table. But that veto was never finalized, and the Trump administration withdrew it in 2019. Last fall, the EPA announced that it would harness its authority under the Clean Water Act to restart the process. But in January, the agency said it would revise its proposed determination by the end of May, instead of issuing a recommendation for action. Opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine voiced disappointment, saying the agency was taking a step backward.
16Permanent —- 3:49 —- “Ross”
The Pebble deposit is a vast store of copper, gold and molybdenum that sits at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. For almost two decades, activists from around the region and the country have worked to stop the construction of a huge open-pit mine there. This month, they hope the EPA will take a step closer to long-term protections against the development.
Representatives with the United Tribes of Bristol Bay and a national group of commercial fishermen [WEB: Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay] met with members of Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency last week with a request: To permanently block development of the Pebble deposit under the Clean Water Act.
At a press conference in front of the United States Capitol Building, [WEB: UTBB representative] Thomas Tilden, a chief of the Curyung Tribal Council, says they came to ask the feds to use their authority to protect Bristol Bay’s salmon from the threat posed by the mine.
12Permanent huffman —- :25 —- “so well”
“Our salmon is just not our salmon. We are people that live on the land and I believe that we are protectors of that salmon. Because that salmon belongs to America. Fifty percent of the salmon that is in America comes from our waters. Our waters are pristine, plentiful, and that’s what nourishes that salmon so well.”
Tilden and others are pushing so hard for protections in Bristol Bay because the EPA is expected to take the next step in the veto process against Pebble by the end of the month.
[AIR: Here’s how that process works.]
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act is the federal law that regulates how the nation’s wetlands and waterways are developed. The EPA can use part of that law to veto development in those wetlands if it determines that it would cause unacceptable damage to water supplies or wildlife habitat.
In the next two weeks, the EPA will issue an initial proposal on how to restrict or totally deny mining of the Pebble deposit. That’s called a proposed determination, or “preemptive veto.” That’s followed by a public comment period. Then, the EPA’s regional administrator recommends whether to move forward with the veto.
[WEB: Then, the Army Corps and the project applicant have 15 days for corrective action. Finally, the administrator will act on the recommendation and publish it in the Federal Registrar.]
The United Tribes of Bristol Bay says they expect the EPA to release its proposed determination by May 26. They are hoping for a final determination by the end of the year.
At last week’s press conference, California Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman says he joined the Alaska coalition to tell the EPA to block developments like Pebble.
12Permanent huffman —- :17 —- “the job”
“Administrations can change, politics can change. And so with something as critical to the economy of Alaska, to the way of life of the people in Bristol Bay and Alaska, something as critical as this Bristol Bay watershed, you just can’t afford to leave this to chance. You’ve got to finish the job.”
A big talking point was the upcoming sockeye salmon season – more than 73 million salmon are expected to return to the bay this summer. Michael Jackson, with the organization Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay, says the EPA should act to protect those record runs.
12Permanent jackson —- :18 —- “return”
“Let me tell you how record. Last year over 66 million fish returned, this year 73.4 million are forecasted to return.”
[WEB: The push for permanent protections isn’t new. The United Tribes of Bristol Bay petitioned the EPA to use the Clean Water Act to veto Pebble over a decade ago. The agency under the Obama administration proposed a “preemptive veto” in 2014 to prohibit mining of the deposit, before Pebble’s proposal was on the table. But that veto was never finalized, and the Trump administration withdrew it in 2019. Last fall, the EPA announced that it would harness its authority under the Clean Water Act to restart the process. But in January, the agency said it would revise its proposed determination by the end of May, instead of issuing a recommendation for action. Opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine voiced disappointment, saying the agency was taking a step backward. ]
Pebble Limited Partnership Spokesperson Mike Heatwole says he doesn’t expect the result of the proposed determination to be good for Pebble – or other potential mines in the area.
12Permanent heatwole—- :12 —- “details”
“We’re waiting to see primarily what, ultimately, the EPA will roll into that proposed determination. As you know, the devil is always in the details.”
[WEB: The EPA issued a “preemptive veto” of development in the area in 2014, before Pebble’s mine plan was on the table. But that veto was never finalized, and the Trump administration withdrew it in 2019. ]
The Army Corps denied Pebble’s federal permit proposal in November of 2020. Heatwole said the company is working with the Corps on an appeal of that decision, which it filed last year.
And a disclosure: Michael Jackson is the president of Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, which is a financial supporter of KDLG.
Water Gliders Miriam Trujillo KNOM
NOAA is developing new research technology to better understand the changing ecosystems of the Arctic. They plan to debut one such piece of technology, the Oculus Glider, this summer, to study the changing ecosystem of the Bering Sea.
The Oculus Glider, a small, unmanned robot that operates underwater, is cheaper, lighter, easier to deploy, and more agile than its predecessors. It can collect new data, in real time, such as the water’s nitrate content. In addition, the gliders were designed to operate in shallower waters, like the Arctic shelf, and to carry a heavier payload and more sensors. Currently, NOAA possesses four Oculus gliders. In a Straight Science presentation introducing the Gliders to the public, NOAA oceanographer, Dr. Phyllis Stabeno discussed how the gliders work.
16Gliders 1: It starts on the surface. It talks to the satellite. It sends back whatever data it has. It dives, downwards. As it senses the bottom, it quickly changes direction, comes back to the surface, and then transmits the data again. Usually, it does two or three dives without transmitting data. [0:23]
The gliders have been in the developmental and experimental stages for five to six years. Thanks to funding from the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), the manager of the NOAA fleet, they are in a position to become operational in a matter of months, and to get to work, examining some of the unusual trends in the Bering Sea.
In her presentation, Stabeno detailed some of those trends. Focusing especially on sea ice, and how it affects the entire ecosystem’s structure, Stabeno discussed how sea ice extent and thickness has swung from one extreme to another within the past few years, affecting local sea life. Highlighting this winter as a particularly odd one, Stabeno says these unusual trends have raised a lot of questions about the state of the Arctic ecosystem.
16Gliders 2: And to begin to answer these questions which are, in part, due to the changing system we are seeing here, is we need data. And we need to expand the database. So these are the time of things that have pushed — to try and develop new instrumentation. [0:19]
To be efficient, Stabeno says they need to find a way to deploy the Gliders without sending one of the NOAA research vessels to sea. Currently, researchers have to deploy the gliders from one of the bigger research vessels in order for them to collect data. Staberno mentions a way to solve this problem.
16Gliders 3: The funding we have is to deploy two gliders this year, each of them for about thirty days. . .but also part of this plan is to partner with a community and utilize smaller community vessels to deploy .. the glider. The glider goes off and does its business, and then (they’ll) help to recover it. [0:28]
Stabeno mentioned that this initial run will take place in the summer. Eventually, the team intends to deploy the gliders during the spring and fall, and one day even the winter, to get closer to the times when sea ice is present. By 2023, NOAA is hoping to deploy all of their gliders: Two in the Northern Bering Sea, and two in the Southern Chukchi Sea.
Donlin Mine Permit Reaffirmed Anna Rose MacArthur KYUK
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has reaffirmed its decision to grant the proposed Donlin Gold mine a water quality certificate. The certificate is required for Donlin Gold to conduct its mining operations under the Clean Water Act. The state released its decision on May 13.
The state initially issued a certificate of reasonable assurance to Donlin in 2018. The certificate says that the state has reasonable assurance that Donlin’s operations would comply with state water standards.
The Orutsararmiut Native Council in Bethel has challenged this certificate multiple times. The tribe is represented by the environmental law firm Earthjustice. It contends that the state cannot have reasonable assurance that the mine won’t violate state water quality standards. Specifically, the tribe said that the state cannot guarantee that the mining operations will maintain Alaska’s environmental standards for mercury levels, water temperature, and fish habitat.
However, the state believes that the mine can maintain these standards. The state has reissued the certificate once, in 2019, and reaffirmed it twice, in 2020 and 2022, following ONC’s challenges.
The most recent review by the state and Exponent, a third-party engineering and consulting firm, concluded that the water temperatures are not expected to exceed standards for fish habitat. It determined that the mercury levels in the Crooked Creek watershed could even decrease due to runoff control at the mine. But it did find one area where mercury levels could exceed state water quality standards in a portion of the American Creek watershed due to increased runoff. The finding led Donlin Gold to create a plan for monitoring the mercury levels at the site and adapting its operations as those levels change.
ONC issued a statement following the state’s decision to reaffirm the certificate. “The Orutsararmiut Native Council is disappointed in this decision as we believe it neglects the interests of the Peoples of our region. The permit will allow for the pollution and degradation of the waters of the Kuskokwim River drainage, the very same waters that support the ecosystem and the fish we so heavily depend on. We are concerned about the impacts the mine’s runoff will have on the fish we catch, the moose and birds we hunt, the berries we gather. A threat to the environment is a direct threat to our livelihood and our culture. Any miscalculations will have far-reaching negative impacts on our region and our people,” ONC said.
ONC did not say whether it plans to take legal action opposing the water quality certificate reaffirmation.
Donlin Gold issued a statement saying the project is committed to responsibly developing the mine and that the state’s additional review helps ensure that the ecosystem will remain protected.
“We believe the additional studies provided compelling support for the 401 Certificate. The two studies extend the already large body of scientific information about water quality in Crooked Creek, ensuring that the healthy ecosystem upon which people depend is protected. The additional water quality monitoring provides further assurance the project will comply with Alaska’s strict water quality standards. ADEC’s decision to reaffirm the 401 Certificate, after completing their own independent review, further confirms this. The reissuance of the 401 Certificate is even more strongly supported by this added data and analysis, and monitoring. We would like to thank the ADEC for the additional and thorough work in the updated 401 Certificate. Donlin Gold is committed to responsible development of the mineral resources owned by Calista Corporation, the Alaska Native Corporation for the Yukon-Kuskokwim region of western Alaska, and the associated benefits it can bring to the shareholders and residents of the region,” Donlin Gold General Manager Dan Graham said.
