Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally requested a timeline extension to complete the process of establishing Clean Water Act (CWA) protections for the headwaters of Bristol Bay. The EPA announced it will extend the process until May 31, 2022 to allow time to consider all available scientific and technical information, picking up from where it left of in the development of the 2014 Bristol Bay Proposed Determination.
If the EPA makes a section 404(c) final determination, it could add another layer of needed protection for the people, fish and fish-based industries of southwest Alaska by limiting mine waste from being released in the headwaters of Bristol Bay. Section 404(c) protections are a crucial tool to providing durable safeguards for the Bristol Bay region and its world-class rivers and fish. These protections, if paired with Congressional legislation, will offer immediate cover to the region from the proposed Pebble mine, and durable support to ensure that the headwaters of the most prolific sockeye salmon fishery on the planet are protected
“The timeline laid out today shows the strong commitment by the EPA to follow through and finish the work started in 2014 to add much needed Clean Water Act 404(c) protections for Bristol Bay,” said Nelli Williams, Alaska director for Trout Unlimited. “We welcome the opportunity to update the scientific record so the EPA can issue a decision as soon as possible based on the most accurate science and public input. The EPA has the opportunity to protect the most prolific wild salmon and trout fisheries on the planet and we look forward to working with the EPA to get durable safeguards finalized as soon as possible.”
On October 29, 2021, the Alaska District Court ruled in favor of Trout Unlimited in its lawsuit against the EPA challenging its 2019 decision to withdraw the Section 404(c) Bristol Bay Proposed Determination. The court’s ruling reinstated the Proposed Determination, which triggered the regulatory deadline the EPA addressed today in its announcement.
Clean Water Act 404(c) regulations require the EPA to either withdraw the 2014 PD or to prepare a Recommended Determination “within 30 days after the conclusion of the public hearing.” Upon a showing of “good cause,” the EPA can extend the regulatory deadline through a notice in the Federal Register. The EPA’s Federal Register Notice, announced today, extends this timeline until May 31, 2022. This extension will allow the EPA to review the substantial volume of new information that has come available since 2014 and make an informed decision about its next steps.
In the 50-year history of the Clean Water Act, the EPA has issued only 13 final determinations under 404(c), reserving its authority for only those instances were a project will have unacceptable adverse effects to our most ecologically important waters. The EPA’s use of 404(c) for Bristol Bay’s headwaters highlights the immense value of this region and the extensive damage the proposed Pebble Mine would bring to the water, fish and wildlife of southwest Alaska.