FEATURE

ocated in Southwest Alaska, on the Bering Sea, Bristol Bay’s

L40,000-square-mile watershed is comprised of nine rivers, numerous lakes, streams and ponds, and thousands of acres of wetlands. Boasting five different ecosystems—marine, river, tundra, boreal forest and lake—it’s one of the most diverse and prolific environments in North America.

Home to the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon fishery, this single region provides nearly half of the entire global consumption of wild sockeye salmon each year. Every species of Pacific salmon (and another 24 species of fish, 190 birds, 40 terrestrial animals) rely on the healthy ecology of the Bristol Bay watershed for their survival. From the tiniest mud worm to the largest grizzly, every creature, including man, could not survive without the salmon that make their way to Bristol Bay each summer. And it’s not just commercial fishing that thrives. The subsistent harvest supports thousands of native Alaskan tribesmen, women and children. Bristol Bay boasts one of the largest sportfishing economies in the state, bringing in thousands of anglers each year to try their luck flyfishing or spin casting for sockeye, king, coho and chum salmon, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, grayling and northern pike. Ask just about any fisherman you know, and I bet they’d tell you that the opportunity to fish these pristine waters at least once in a lifetime is high on their bucket list.

For thousands of years, Bristol Bay has remained virtually unchanged. But that could change…in a big way. While most consider the salmon industry in Bristol Bay an axiomatic gold mine, it is the gold that lies beneath that threatens the future of what lies above.

Alaska has a rich history and robust economy from fishing and tourism, but it’s no secret that a large portion of its economy has been driven by oil drilling and mining. Mining represents the fifth largest industry behind petroleum, government, fishing and tourism. These rich, natural resources of oil, minerals, forests, and fish, and the continual choice to preserve and protect, or to extract and exploit has created clashes among Alaskans. But one such conflict has done just the opposite—the proposed Pebble Mine.

Brown bears prepare for winter by gorging themselves on sockeye salmon at the base of Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park. Photo by Matt Luck.

Bristol Bay Fishery by the numbers ($ annually):

• $1.5 billion economy • 14,000 jobs (commercial fishermen, guides, processors, lodge owners, tourism operators, etc.) • 160 million pounds of salmon valued at $310 million (wholesale) • $90 million tourism tax and license fee revenue • 37,000 individual sportfishing trips (1/3 out of state visitors) • 30 Alaska native tribes • 7,259 total population

The Pebble Mine: A Looming Threat to Bristol Bay

Over the past decade, Pebble has kept Bristol Bay businesses, wild salmon and jobs in limbo. With the change in federal Administration in 2017, the Pebble Partnership submitted an application to develop a massive open-pit mine in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska’s world-class salmon rivers. Review of their plans confirms the Pebble Mine would irrevocably damage Bristol Bay’s salmon runs, clean water, and wild landscape.

Pebble targets completion of a pre-feasibility study in December 2008, a feasibility study by 2011, and start of commercial production by 2015. 1

2007

Alaskans were assured that that “Pebble was on schedule to finalize a proposed development plan in 2009”... and apply for permits in early 2010

5

CEO of Anglo American Mining Company, says they won’t go where they’re not wanted.

2008 2014

Northern Dynasty Minerals releases preliminary assessment showing the Pebble deposit contains nearly 11 billion tons of ore

7 The EPA issues the 404(c) Proposed Determination, which if finalized, would restrict the amount of mine waste that could be disposed of in the Bristol Bay region.

2011

2.5 Millionnumber of Americans who have expressed support for protecting Bristol Bay using 404(c)

Pebble unveils a new “smaller” mine plan to the public just one week after pitching the project to potential new investors as the “initial approach” in what could, “operate for generations.”

2017

Sept EPA receives a record number of comments in support of keeping the proposed Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay.

2017

Oct 2018

U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that he would not withdraw the 2014 Clean Water Act 404(c) Proposed Determination

AK Gov. Bill Walker states,

“in the Bristol Bay region we should prioritize the resource that has sustained generations and must continue to do so in perpetuity.” 8

2018

Jan

2001 2006 2007 2010 2013 2015 2017

May 2017

Dec 2018

Jan

Northern Dynasty Minerals acquires leases from Teck Cominco (which Cominco held since 1988)

Northern Dynasty files preliminary water rights applications to use 35 billion gallons of water a year from three rivers. 2 Pebble Partnership officially formed with Anglo American 3

2010

Tribes, commercial fishermen, and many others file request to the EPA to initiate 404(c)

Pebble fined for withdrawing water without a permit on 45 separate occasions.

4 Anglo American withdraws from Pebble Partnership

Rio Tinto exits Pebble project, granting its shares to two state-based non profits.

14,000

Hours after a closed-door meeting between the new EPA Administrator and the CEO of Northern Dynasty, the EPA Administrator proposed to withdraw important protections for Bristol Bay salmon (the 2014 Proposed Determination).

Pebble files its federal permit applications. They include plans for an open pit up to 1,750 feet deep and over a mile wide & long; filling 6.4 square miles of wetlands; a private road system almost 100 miles long, which would cross Lake Iliamna and salmon streams 200+ times; a 188-mile pipeline from the Kenai Peninsula; a new deep-water port in Cook Inlet; billions of gallons of wastewater discharge annually; and more. Pebble files for its state exloration permits (known as “MLUP”), which reveals plans for dozens of new drill holes outside of the proposed phase 1 mine site, as well as drawing over 80,000 gallons of water per day from Upper Talarik Creek

6

4Number of major mining companies that have walked away from the project

1 northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=595686 2 dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/mining/largemine/pebble/water-right-apps/ 3 angloamerican.com/media/press-releases/2007/2007-08-01 4 dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/mining/largemine/pebble/water-settlement/index.cfm 5 fastcompany.com/1042481/anglo-american%E2%80%99s-bristol-bay-controversy-wildlife-vs-mineral-riches 6 https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=188476 fish based jobs in region

annual revenue brought in by fish-based economy $1.5 billion

7 https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/news/news-releases/2011/northern-dynastyreceives-positive-preliminary-assessment-technical-report-for-globally-significant-pebble-copper-gold-molybdenu/

8 https://gov.alaska.gov/newsroom/2018/01/federal-regulators-respond-to-outcry-from-alaskans-concerned-about-mining-in-bristol-bay/

It’s a battle that’s been raging in the Bristol Bay region for nearly a decade. On one side is Northern Dynasty Minerals, a Canadian-based mining company; and on the other side, a coalition of opposition from Alaska Regional Native Corporations, commercial and recreational fishermen, guides, chefs, environmental groups, NGOs, hunting guides, outfitters and hundreds of other businesses.

Mineral exploration began in the late 1980s, but the proposed mine did not receive much national attention until the early 2000s, when Northern Dynasty began exploring in earnest (see timeline).

The proposed Pebble site is situated about 15 miles upstream from Lake Iliamna in the Bristol Bay watershed and is purported to hold the largest known undeveloped copper ore body in the world, estimated to contain $300+ billion worth of recoverable copper, gold and other metals. From an economic standpoint, one might see why it’s so attractive. Many believe there is no amount of money worth the consequential economic, cultural and environmental disaster that could come from a project like Pebble.

Timeline courtesy of Trout Unlmited

Unlike the Klondike gold rush period in the early 1900s, where precious metals were extracted from rich veins on a small scale, today’s mines (like Pebble) hold mostly low-grade ore, that require behemoth open-pit operations. To make the mine most profitable, Pebble would have to be as large as Manhattan and as deep as the Grand Canyon. Just to obtain one single pound of ore, miners would have to sift through and eradicate 99 pounds of rock. Chemicals used to separate the gold and copper deposits from the rest of the rock create toxic waste that must be contained on-site. Dams would have to be built to handle billions of tons of mine “tailings” to keep it from contaminating the surrounding environment—forever. “Tailings” are the mud-like toxic waste left over from the chemical process of separating the valuable part of the ore from the invaluable. According to the EPA, the mine would have the potential to destroy 94 miles of streams and 5,350 acres of wetlands, ponds, and lakes… and that doesn’t take into account the additional socio-economic and environmental impact from the infrastructure required to build such a project.

Matt Luck has been a commercial fisherman in Alaska for 40 years. The founder of Pride of Bristol Bay, he and his family sell traceable and sustainable Bristol Bay salmon nationwide. Regarding the proposed Pebble Mine, Luck says, “This issue has brought every stakeholder together like none other. There’s no place like Bristol Bay in the world. It is truly a global treasure, an incomparable cold-water fisheries habitat.

“Consequences created from the development of the Pebble Mine have the potential to rival the environmental disaster caused by the grounding of the Exxon Valdez on March 24, 1989.” At the time, the Exxon Valdez was the worst oil spill in North America, spilling 11 million gallons of oil into the pristine waters of Prince William Sound, Alaska. Luck, a resident of Cordova, Alaska, at the time of the spill, remembers vividly the social, economic and environmental havoc that rained down upon the region for years after that catastrophic event. Luck comments, “The oil industry said it could never happen, and now we are hearing the same rhetoric from the proponents of the Pebble project, and quite frankly, it’s frightening.”

There’s reason to worry about Pebble. Proponents of Pebble Mine contend that the mine plan is safe, and strict measures would be taken to protect the environment. The same was said about Polley Mine. But on August 4, 2014, a tailings pond dam burst at Mount Polley, an open- pit copper and gold mine in British Columbia, Canada, spilling six billion gallons of toxic waste. Within four days, the 1.5-square-mile sludge pond was virtually emptied into nearby lakes and streams. Arsenic, copper, nickel, and lead, contaminated drinking water and salmon spawning grounds. Mine safety experts called it “the

In Bristol Bay, sockeye salmon is the catch of the day for this fisherman. Photo by Chris Miller.

largest environmental disaster in modern Canadian history.” Could something like that happen in Bristol Bay?

Nelli Williams grew up in the Midwest, hunting and fishing, but since childhood dreamed of living in Alaska. “I always had the Alaska bug,” she says. After college, she did volunteer work, which ultimately led her to Trout Unlimited. Now, 10 years later, she’s the Alaska program director for Trout Unlimited and living in Anchorage. “Pebble could happen in the next five years if people don’t speak out now,” she says. Nelli is encouraged by the diverse base of opposition, and how Alaskans are coming together to fight this threat. “But still,” she contends, “we’ve got a big fight ahead.” She’s ready.

Significant strides were made in 2014 when the EPA released its Proposed Determination to limit mining within the Bristol Bay region, citing the mine would cause irreversible and unacceptable damage to the Bristol Bay salmon ecosystem. In 2016, the Inspector General determined the EPA acted fairly in its assessment, the findings of which ultimately directed the agency to limit mining activities in Bristol Bay due to its unacceptable risk. Then in 2017, the new EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, and Pebble Limited Partnership CEO Tom Collier held a brief, closed-door meeting. Soon after, the administrator, in a shocking move, directed staff to withdraw important protections for Bristol Bay.

So, a new battle for Bristol Bay has begun. Nelli Williams contends that Alaska needs both state-based protections as well as long-term protection from the EPA and other federal agencies. Pebble’s next step is to begin the permitting process at both governmental levels; and the people of Alaska, the Lower 48 and the international community need to speak up for the future of this amazing place called Bristol Bay. Their life really does depend on it.

Elijah Lawson has spoken up, and he’s doing his part.

For three decades, Elijah has fished Bristol Bay with his family. His love for salmon, for the culture and the unique way of life in Bristol Bay is evident in a documentary he created, In the Same Boat. “This issue is so BIG, and these people are so important,” he says, “I wanted to do something to make a difference. Everything subsists off salmon here. This is how I see it,” he continues, “the rivers and waters are the veins of the earth; the salmon rushing up to fill the rivers are the blood.”

“It’s simple,” he said. “If you don’t have salmon, you don’t have life.”

In the summer of 2017, the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game estimated that over 20 million wild sockeye salmon escaped into the spawning habitat at the headwaters of the five major river systems in Bristol Bay. Photo by Bob Waldrop.