Bristol Bay tribal, commercial and sport fishing leaders thank Governor Walker for call for halt in Pebble Mine environmental review; request the same from Alaska Delegation

Contact:
Alannah Hurley, United Tribes of Bristol Bay, (907) 843-1633, ahurley@utbb.org
Elizabeth Herendeen, Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay, 970.889.1440
Nelli Williams, Trout Unlimited - Alaska Program, 907-230-7121, nwilliams@tu.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Clarks Point, Alaska-- United Tribes of Bristol Bay Executive Director Alannah Hurley, and other fishing leaders thanked Alaska Governor Bill Walker’s today for his call to halt the environmental review of the proposed Pebble Mine.  In a letter to the US Army Corps. of Engineers, Governor Walker requested the federal agency cease its ongoing analysis of the wildly controversial proposed Pebble Mine.

Walker, in a statement released Friday, wrote: “Pebble Limited Partnership has yet to demonstrate to us or the Alaskan public that they have proposed a feasible and realistic project.”

Hurley, presently fishing for sockeye salmon at her setnet site in the village of Clark’s Point, thanked the Governor and called on Alaska’s Congressional delegation to follow Walker’s lead. “We have been waiting for this kind leadership from our elected officials for a long time.  Governor Walker’s request is a tremendous first step,” said Hurley. “Now, we need similar action from our Congressional Delegation. We have continually called for protections for our irreplaceable fishery resource. With today’s announcement, I am hopeful those who represent us are finally starting to listen.”

Friday marked the end of the “scoping” process for the Pebble Mine, the first step in the environmental analysis of the massive copper and gold proposal. To date, the federal process has been plagued by a lack of responsiveness by the Army Corps, the lack of any economic feasibility reports, and massive data gaps in the baseline information associated with the huge project.

Governor Walker specifically cited the lack of economic and pre-feasibility studies as a reason for his request. Such studies are usually required before an application is accepted for analysis by an agency. Adding to the economic uncertainty of the undertaking is the recent departure of Pebble’s last major financial backer, First Quantum Minerals. “The people don’t want this mine, the markets question its validity, and now the Governor is on record with his doubts,” says Hurley. “It’s time for Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and Congressman Young to join their fellow Alaskans and call for an end to this deeply flawed, fast tracked process.”

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