House Republicans Continue Crusade for Pebble Mine
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund
Republicans on Capitol Hill are busy paving the path for a foreign mining company to destroy the world’s greatest wild salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska—over the opposition of the people of Alaska.
Robert Glenn Ketchum
First, Representative Tom Rice (R-SC) introduced H.R. 1179, a bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Among other terrible things, the bill completely eviscerates Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act. Under Section 404(c), EPA may prohibit, restrict, deny or withdraw authorization for projects discharging dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S. whenever the agency finds “an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas (including spawning and breeding areas), wildlife, or recreational areas.”
H.R. 1179 deletes the entire section in a single ominous sentence: “Section 404(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344(c)) is repealed.”
Repealing Section 404(c) is nothing more than an industry give-away. It prevents EPA from protecting Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine. Based on a three year scientific study that concluded “mining of the scale contemplated at the Pebble deposit would result in significant and unacceptable adverse effects to important fishery areas in the [Bristol Bay] watershed,” including “catastrophic” effects, EPA issued a proposed determination under Section 404(c) that would restrict the Pebble Mine—sparking thanks from the residents and tribes of Bristol Bay and outrage from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
H.R. 1179 guts EPA’s authority. It promotes the profits of a foreign mining company over a $1.5 billion annual commercial fishery that supports 14,000 sustainable American jobs. And it completely ignores the will of Alaskans, a strong majority of whom oppose the Pebble Mine. (Opposition in the Bristol Bay region is even stronger, where over 80 percent of residents and 85 percent of commercial fisherman oppose the Pebble Mine.)
It also overlooks the fact that EPA has used its 404(c) authority sparingly. Out of the hundreds of thousands of 404(c) permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers in the history of the Clean Water Act, EPA has used Section 404(c) only 13 times. Of those instances, 11 were under Republican administrations.
To make matters worse (for anyone who loves Bristol Bay and wild salmon), the US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology sent a letter urging newly appointed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to “rescind” the agency’s 2014 proposed determination that would have protected Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine.
This request follows years of Committee hearings convened by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) designed to persecute EPA and provide a platform for the Pebble Partnership—while ignoring wishes of the people of Bristol Bay.
As the President of United Tribes of Bristol Bay Robert Heyano said: “The Committee, with no Alaskan representation and with no effort to listen to Alaska residents, makes outlandish claims against EPA’s work in Bristol Bay. The handful of hearings the Committee held on the Pebble Mine in recent years have consistently outright ignored the voices of the people of Bristol Bay.”
Make no mistake. This is a direct attack not only on the Clean Water Act, but also on the people, salmon, wildlife, and 14,000 fish-related jobs that Bristol Bay supports—and it must not stand.
Click here to stop the Pebble Mine.
Read the full article at: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/taryn-kiekow-heimer/house-republicans-continue-crusade-pebble-mine
