In a monumental choice that was introduced right this moment, the Environmental Protection Agency issued safeguards for the Bristol Bay watershed underneath part 404(c) of the Clean Water Act. The federal company’s long-awaited choice blocks the event of the Pebble Mine challenge, which goals to construct the world’s largest open-pit mine atop the headwaters of one of many world’s final remaining strongholds for Pacific salmon.
“Today’s action marks the third time in 30 years, and only the 14th time in the history of the Clean Water Act, that EPA has used this authority,” the EPA stated in a press launch. “This highlights the value of the Bristol Bay watershed’s fishery resources.”
Hunters, anglers, tribes, and conservationists of all stripes are celebrating the transfer. They view it as an vital milestone within the ongoing authorized battle to guard the Bristol Bay watershed from the impacts of large-scale mining. In addition to internet hosting the biggest sockeye runs on the planet, the undeveloped area supplies vital habitat for bears, moose, and a plethora of different wildlife. Pebble’s opponents argue that these sources shouldn’t be sacrificed for any worth.
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“Today’s decision is a hard-earned victory for Bristol Bay residents, the majority of Alaskans, and the four million Americans who have repeatedly requested conservation safeguards for this special place,” says Jen Leahy, Alaska program supervisor for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “The hunt-fish community is thrilled to know that another layer of safeguards now exists for the headwaters of Bristol Bay.”
The EPA’s Jan. 31 choice successfully blocks the proposed copper-molybdenum-gold mine by prohibiting the discharge of any dredged or fill materials inside the footprint of the proposed Pebble Mine website. This consists of the South and North Forks of the Koktuli River, together with Upper Talarik Creek, that are the ultimate spawning vacation spot for tens of millions of the salmon that return to Bristol Bay each summer season. It follows the company’s Proposed Determination for the challenge, launched in December 2022, which discovered that the proposed mine “could result in unacceptable adverse effects on salmon fishery areas within the Bristol Bay watershed.”
That identical month, the Pebble Mine challenge obtained one other punishing blow when an Alaskan Native company secured a conservation easement on over 44,000 acres of land alongside the northeastern finish of Lake Iliamna. This acquisition hamstrings the Pebble challenge by stopping the development of a significant highway within the space. Without a technique to transfer the minerals or a location by which to discharge mining waste, the challenge is actually lifeless within the water…for now.
The federal authorities’s choice isn’t precisely the nail within the coffin that Pebble’s opponents have been ready for. The Pebble Partnership has already signaled that it’ll problem the EPA’s dedication in court docket, in accordance with the Seattle Times, and the decades-long battle for Bristol Bay’s pure sources will little question proceed. But for right this moment no less than, wild salmon and their many supporters appear to have the higher hand.
Today’s information additionally falls according to different current strikes by the Biden Administration to guard threatened habitats and preserve America’s public lands. Last week, the Department of the Interior halted the event of one other controversial mining challenge close to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, and on Jan. 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reinstated Roadless Rule Protections in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. These actions help the DOI’s America the Beautiful Initiative and assist bolster the Biden Administration’s conservation legacy.