BUSHGREENWATCH
Tracking the Bush Administration's Environmental Misdeeds
http://www.bushgreenwatch.org
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July 6, 2005
EPA PERMIT FOR ALASKA GOLD MINE SETS DANGEROUS PRECEDENT
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a permit last week that will allow the Coeur d'Alene mining company to discharge mining waste from a proposed gold mine into a lake in the Tongass National Forest near Berner's Bay in Southeast Alaska, paving the way for mining companies all over the country to follow suit.
Bonnie Gestring, field staff for EARTHWORKS told BushGreenwatch,"This is the first time since the Clean Water Act passed that the federal government has allowed 'tailings' [a form of mining waste] into a pristine lake, a significant departure from traditional public policy, setting a dangerous precedent for future mining developments." The EPA permit was granted after a rule change to the CleanWater Act, pushed by the Bush Administration, which allows tailings -- waste rock and chemically-processed mine waste -- to be classified as "fill" rather than "waste." Environmentalists criticized the change as a backdoor attempt to circumvent a court ruling that found that mining waste in Appalachian mountain streams violates the Clean Water Act.
[1] Normally an impoundment facility is built near a mine to legally dispose of mining waste, a costly process that Coeur d'Alene wanted to avoid. The EPA rule change, however, means that Coeurd'Alene can dump tailings containing arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium and zinc into the nearby lake without violating the Clean Water Act.
[2] According to Gestring, "This decision blatantly contradicts the Clean Water Act's fundamental purpose, which is to prevent America's lakes, streams, and rivers from being turned into toxic waste dumps."
[3] According to the mining company's environmental review, the barrage of chemicals in the lake will likely exterminate the fish population, Coeur d'Arlene claims, however, that the population will re-emerge after mining activity ceases, within the next 12-15 years.
Gestring, however, disputed the possibility of such a comeback, telling BushGreenwatch, "There is no historical precedent for a fish population returning after its habitat has been subjected to so many chemicals for such along period of time." Critics of the permit claim this is yet another example of EPA changing long-standing rules to accommodate industry interests.
Kat Hall, a representative of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, told BushGreenwatch, "Instead of protecting Alaska's clean water, the EPA is sacrificing it for the profits of a mining company." The federal government has deemed Berner's Bay and its surrounding lakes an "aquatic resource of national importance." The region is home to a variety of wildlife including, sealions, humpback whales, four species of wild salmon, bald eagles, brown and black bears, and moose.
### SOURCES:
[1] "EPA would allow mine dumping in waterways," WashingtonPost, Apr. 26, 2002, http://ga3.org/ct/dd1Z7nM1AzBp/.
[2] "EPA issues permit for controversial Alaska gold mine,"Greenwire, Jun. 30, 2005.
[3] "Gold mine to dump mine waste in pristine Alaskan lake,"EARTHWORKS, Jun 24, 2005, http://ga3.org/ct/d71Z7nM1AzBP/.
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1320 18th Street NW 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 463-6670
Web site comments: info@bushgreenwatch.org
Copyright (c) 2003 Environmental Media Services
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July 6, 2005
EPA PERMIT FOR ALASKA GOLD MINE SETS DANGEROUS PRECEDENT
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a permit last week that will allow the Coeur d'Alene mining company to discharge mining waste from a proposed gold mine into a lake in the Tongass National Forest near Berner's Bay in Southeast Alaska, paving the way for mining companies all over the country to follow suit.
Bonnie Gestring, field staff for EARTHWORKS told BushGreenwatch,"This is the first time since the Clean Water Act passed that the federal government has allowed 'tailings' [a form of mining waste] into a pristine lake, a significant departure from traditional public policy, setting a dangerous precedent for future mining developments." The EPA permit was granted after a rule change to the CleanWater Act, pushed by the Bush Administration, which allows tailings -- waste rock and chemically-processed mine waste -- to be classified as "fill" rather than "waste." Environmentalists criticized the change as a backdoor attempt to circumvent a court ruling that found that mining waste in Appalachian mountain streams violates the Clean Water Act.
[1] Normally an impoundment facility is built near a mine to legally dispose of mining waste, a costly process that Coeur d'Alene wanted to avoid. The EPA rule change, however, means that Coeurd'Alene can dump tailings containing arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium and zinc into the nearby lake without violating the Clean Water Act.
[2] According to Gestring, "This decision blatantly contradicts the Clean Water Act's fundamental purpose, which is to prevent America's lakes, streams, and rivers from being turned into toxic waste dumps."
[3] According to the mining company's environmental review, the barrage of chemicals in the lake will likely exterminate the fish population, Coeur d'Arlene claims, however, that the population will re-emerge after mining activity ceases, within the next 12-15 years.
Gestring, however, disputed the possibility of such a comeback, telling BushGreenwatch, "There is no historical precedent for a fish population returning after its habitat has been subjected to so many chemicals for such along period of time." Critics of the permit claim this is yet another example of EPA changing long-standing rules to accommodate industry interests.
Kat Hall, a representative of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, told BushGreenwatch, "Instead of protecting Alaska's clean water, the EPA is sacrificing it for the profits of a mining company." The federal government has deemed Berner's Bay and its surrounding lakes an "aquatic resource of national importance." The region is home to a variety of wildlife including, sealions, humpback whales, four species of wild salmon, bald eagles, brown and black bears, and moose.
### SOURCES:
[1] "EPA would allow mine dumping in waterways," WashingtonPost, Apr. 26, 2002, http://ga3.org/ct/dd1Z7nM1AzBp/.
[2] "EPA issues permit for controversial Alaska gold mine,"Greenwire, Jun. 30, 2005.
[3] "Gold mine to dump mine waste in pristine Alaskan lake,"EARTHWORKS, Jun 24, 2005, http://ga3.org/ct/d71Z7nM1AzBP/.
***************************************
:: TELL A FRIEND ABOUT BUSHGREENWATCH
http://ga3.org/ct/ed1Z7nM1AzB9/
:: READ BACK ISSUES
http://ga3.org/ct/ep1Z7nM1AzBl/
***************************************
BushGreenwatch
1320 18th Street NW 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 463-6670
Web site comments: info@bushgreenwatch.org
Copyright (c) 2003 Environmental Media Services
--------------------------------------------------
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up forBushGreenwatch at:
http://ga3.org/bushgreenwatch/join.html?r=wp1Z7nM19msNE
posted by T. Scott Brineman at 7:08 AM
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