Statement: EPA should finalize permanent protections for Bristol Bay from proposed Pebble Mine

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Environmental Protection Agency will release a proposed determination on Thursday that would effectively prevent mining in the Pebble Deposit, which is located between two rivers in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed. The environmental regulators are basing the proposed determination on provisions under the Clean Water Act. The public comment period on the proposed determination will start on May 26, 2022 and continue until July 5, 2022. 

In response, Alaska Environment’s State Director Dyani Chapman issued the following statement:

“Bristol Bay is a vast, beautiful and ecologically important region. It is home to one of the last healthy salmon runs in the world, brown bears, over 190 species of birds and a host of other wildlife. If the Pebble Mine is allowed to move forward, it would destroy thousands of acres of wetlands, fragment a contiguous healthy ecosystem, and could pollute Bristol Bay with mining refuse and chemicals. This is one of the final steps for the EPA to deliver a massive safeguard for salmon and other wildlife that depend on the wetlands and streams in the Bristol Bay area. We all should make sure to submit a public comment within the next month in support of the proposed determination that will prevent what would be catastrophic damage from one of the largest mining operations in the world. We look forward to the EPA finalizing these protections so that the wildlife and communities near Bristol Bay can continue to safely enjoy clean water and healthy habitat.”