Speak Up Today for Bristol Bay

From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):

Another one of America’s iconic places needs our help: the vital watershed ecosystem of Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

On July 30, the Environmental Protection Agency publicly announced it would fast-track a mining project that would devastate Bristol Bay and the wildlife that call it home.¹

It was an abrupt reversal that left EPA scientists shocked, cutting them out of the process completely and moving ahead without the standard assessment process under the Clean Water Act.²

This decision ignores science and puts a whole ecosystem at risk. Join us in calling for a congressional hearing on the Bristol Bay mining plan at https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=34111.

The mining project includes a dirty, open-pit gold and copper mine, a 188-mile natural gas pipeline, miles of roads for a transportation corridor, and a port facility.³

The EPA blocked it in 2014 after finding that it would cause a “complete loss” of fish habitats in Bristol Bay. Mine tailings and waste rock piles would clog the region’s streams and wetlands, and wastewater from the mine would taint waters that fish depend on. All this would spell disaster for an ecosystem that’s home to one of the largest wild salmon populations in the world, in addition to 29 types of fish, more than 190 bird species and more than 40 kinds of land animals — including moose, caribou and gray wolves.⁴

Under the Trump administration, officials have tried to move the project forward, but have done so cautiously. In January of 2018, the EPA acknowledged that “the risk to Bristol Bay may be unacceptable.”⁵

This past June, the EPA publicly announced that it would begin the process of reconsidering its protections for Bristol Bay — leaving its scientists under the impression that they would be reassessing previous findings and determining whether or not it would be safe to move forward with the project. But the very next day, a top EPA official told the agency they’d be dropping Bristol Bay protections without any further study — a decision that wasn’t made public until a month later.⁶

This reckless, irresponsible plan should not stand. Tell House leaders: Congress should exercise its oversight powers and hold a hearing on this disastrous decision.

It would be a tragedy to destroy the priceless Bristol Bay just to extract a little more copper and gold. If the Trump administration wants to fast-track this mining project, ignoring its own scientists, Congress should hold it accountable. Join us today in calling for a congressional oversight hearing.

1. Scott Bronstein, Curt Devine, Drew Griffin and Ashley Hackett, “EPA dropped salmon protection after Trump met with Alaska governor,” CNN, August 9, 2019.
2. Scott Bronstein, Curt Devine, Drew Griffin and Ashley Hackett, “EPA dropped salmon protection after Trump met with Alaska governor,” CNN, August 9, 2019.
3. “Pebble Project EIS,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, accessed August 13, 2019.
4. “Bristol Bay Assessment – Final Report (2014),” United States Environmental Protection Agency, accessed August 13, 2019.
5. Scott Bronstein, Curt Devine, Drew Griffin and Ashley Hackett, “EPA dropped salmon protection after Trump met with Alaska governor,” CNN, August 9, 2019.
6. Scott Bronstein, Curt Devine, Drew Griffin and Ashley Hackett, “EPA dropped salmon protection after Trump met with Alaska governor,” CNN, August 9, 2019.