"Our villages need work or they will die," Lake and Peninsula Borough Mayor Glen Ainsworth told the House Resources Committee in a hearing in Juneau Feb. 13. "These are people who aren't worried about planning their next year's vacation but about paying the sewer bill at the end of this month."

Ainsworth was referring to influential sports fishing lodge owners who are behind House Concurrent Resolution 29, which is sponsored by Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, and House Speaker John Harris, a Valdez Republican.

The resolution asks the Department of Natural Resources to develop a special management plan for the mine within the Bristol Bay regional plan, which has already designated the Pebble region for mineral development. HCR 29 would also have the Legislature review the management plan before permits for the mine are issued.

Ralph Angasan, president of the Alaska Peninsula Corp., owned by five villages in the region, blasted the sponsors of the resolution as "pandering to powerful special interests who want a playground to lock up for their pleasure."

"These rich and powerful people want to play a few weeks of the summer and leave nothing behind for local people," Angasan said. "We're asking you to wait to see if a mine is even possible. Give it a chance."

Not everyone spoke against the resolution at the hearing. Scott Brennan, executive director of Alaskans for Responsible Mining, said he supports the resolution because it requires the Legislature to give enhanced oversight to a project that would be of unprecedented size in Alaska. "Pebble would be about 20 times the size of the Fort Knox gold mine near Fairbanks, and its geochemistry is different and high-risk," Brennan told the committee.

One reason Brennan wants to see legislative involvement is that he is concerned over whether the Department of Natural Resources will give the Pebble project a fair and critical review in the permit process. That's because Northern Dynasty Minerals, the project developer, has signed a memorandum of understanding with DNR to pay to support the state teams working on the project.

While the reimbursement procedure is common with large resource projects on both the federal and state levels, Brennan said he is worried about Pebble after seeing correspondence from Northern Dynasty officials referring to the state MOU as an agreement to "expedite" the mine permits, he told the legislators. It's worth an extra level of review through HCR-29 to ensure the project review is done properly and fairly, he said.

Brennan also said there is precedent for the state Department of Natural Resources doing a special project-related management plan within a broad regional plan, citing a ski area development project at Hatcher Pass as one example. "If Hatcher Pass merits a special management plan, why shouldn't a project as large as Pebble merit one?" he asked.

Brennan said his group is a coalition of Alaska conservation groups with financial support from foundations and individuals. He said Bob Gillam, an Anchorage businessman and fishing lodge owner who is active in opposing the mine, has contributed to Alaskans for Responsible Mining.

The Feb. 13 hearing was dominated by supporters of the mine, however. Lisa Reimer, a resident of Iliamna village near the proposed mine and president of Iliamna Natives Ltd., said she was initially skeptical of Northern Dynasty's plans to develop the mine but is now convinced the company is doing a thorough environmental review and is trying to work with local villages.

"Northern Dynasty has brought business to our community and jobs for our shareholders. They've been good neighbors," Reimer said. Commercial salmon fishing is no longer a viable economic base for villages in the region, she said.

"We don't have a billionaire backing us," Reimer said, a reference to Bob Gillam's support for the mine opposition effort.

State Labor Commissioner Greg O'Claray told the legislators that Northern Dynasty has a good track record in hiring Alaskans so far. The company employed 609 last year, 75 percent from Alaska.

"That means 457 Alaskans were at work, and 112 of them from the Bristol Bay region," O'Claray said. The company spent $68 million in Alaska in its exploration last year, he said.

"My understanding is that this resolution could mean more delay for the project. Any delay in bringing some prosperity to this region is not something you should entertain," O'Claray told the legislators.