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Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, and House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, introduced a resolution asking the state administration to create a special management plan for the Pebble mine area within the existing Bristol Bay Area Plan.
The regional government, the Lake and Peninsula Borough, has voiced concerns about the resolution, however, calling it "an additional layer of government process" in an area already designated for mining in the Bristol Bay plan.
The regional plan was completed some years ago by state and local governments and landowners in the Bristol Bay region. The regional plans, which exist for most parts of the state, are intended to help guide development activity.
Three Democrats, Reps. Ethan Berkowitz and Les Gara, both of Anchorage, and Rep. Beth Kerttula of Juneau, joined Hawker and Harris as co-sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution No. 29. The resolution was introduced Feb. 1 and was sent to the Resources Committee in the House, where a hearing was scheduled for Feb. 10.
"The proposed Pebble mine is of such magnitude and potential consequence in the hearts and minds of Alaskans, both supporting and opposed, that it is appropriate for the Legislature to take particular interest in assuring a fully open regulatory process in full compliance with our regulatory process," Hawker said in a sponsor statement for HCR-29.
The resolution also asks that a report be presented to the Legislature documenting public issues or conflicts that have been documented in the public review process prior to issuing state permits for the mine.
A resolution does not have the force of law but is intended to advise the executive branch or others on the Legislature's opinion concerning the issue at stake. However, if the resolution passes and is ignored by the state administration, lawmakers have the option of passing a bill that would require what is asked for in HCR-29.
Pebble is a large copper/gold project being developed by Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., a Vancouver, B.C.-based minerals development company. Northern Dynasty has been working on a development plan for an ore deposit that has been known for some time. The company recently discovered and is now exploring a second ore deposit adjacent to the first.
The latest resource estimate at Pebble is 61 million ounces of gold and 50 billion pounds of copper, which would make it one of the largest mines of its type in the world if Pebble is developed. The resource estimates include both inferred, and measured and indicated resources.
The prospect of a large open-pit mine developed on the Alaska Peninsula, which is also a major sports fishing area, has prompted opposition from owners of sports fishing lodges and some communities.
Other local communities support the project because of the economic stimulus it would bring to the region, which is economically depressed. In production, Pebble would employ about 1,000 permanent workers.
Opponents to the mine cite concerns over contamination and the possibility of chemicals reaching streams that feed into rivers supporting salmon fisheries. Northern Dynasty says it will construct its mine so that all tailings rock left after metals are extracted are safely contained, and that no contamination of local water bodies occurs.
"There is no place in the world that has had open-pit mining in high concentrations of sulfides, which Pebble has, that has not had environmental problems," said Brian Kraft, owner of the Alaska Sportsman's Lodge and Trout Unlimited's Southwest Alaska director, in a Feb. 1 letter to state Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks. "We need to learn from mistakes that have happened in other states and not allow our renewable resources to be put in danger."
The Bristol Bay region generates more than $200 million a year in economic activity through the commercial and sports fisheries, hunting and eco-tourism, Kraft said. "These industries survive and depend on the fact and the perception that the waters of Bristol Bay are pure and clean," he said.
Lake and Peninsula Borough Mayor Glen Alsworth has a different view on the matter. In a Feb. 6 letter sent to legislators, Alsworth said economic development and environmental protection can co-exist in the region. Economic activity is badly needed in the region. "Our region still suffers from the recent dramatic decline in salmon values and the steady out-migration of residents because of lack of opportunities to sustain a livelihood. Recreational fisheries, such as sports lodges, have a long history of not hiring local residents, nor do they serve as a major economic engine," Alsworth wrote.
In contrast, the mining industry spent $60 million in the broader Bristol Bay region. The Pebble project itself resulted in 70 well-paying jobs for local residents.
Dick Mylius, acting director of the Division of Mining, Land and Water, said that development of a special management plan for the Pebble area could be done, but that the state's existing large mine permit process is extremely thorough and would accomplish many of the same goals of HCR-29.
Tim Bradner can be reached at tim.bradner@alaskajournal.com.
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