{"id":8511,"date":"2022-05-25T12:53:29","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T18:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/?p=8511"},"modified":"2023-01-23T11:16:49","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T18:16:49","slug":"epa-proposes-to-protect-bristol-bays-salmon-fishery-from-mining-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/25\/epa-proposes-to-protect-bristol-bays-salmon-fishery-from-mining-consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"EPA Proposes to Protect Bristol Bay\u2019s Salmon Fishery from Mining Consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Enivronmental Protection Agency has your back, salmon. At least, as far as the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska<\/a> goes. The rest of us also have your back (and front, and the rest of your fillets), but in a culinary way, not a “you go, fish” sort of way. Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s Region 10 Office announced a revised Proposed Determination under Clean Water Act Section 404(c) to prohibit and restrict the use of certain waters in the Bristol Bay watershed as disposal sites for the discharge of dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble Deposit. If finalized, EPA\u2019s Section 404(c) determination would help protect the Bristol Bay watershed\u2019s rivers, streams, and wetlands that support the world\u2019s largest sockeye salmon fishery and a subsistence-based way of life that has sustained Alaska Native communities for millennia.<\/p>\n

\"seafood<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bristol Bay watershed is a shining example of how our nation\u2019s waters are essential to healthy communities, vibrant ecosystems, and a thriving economy,\u201d said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. \u201cEPA is committed to following the science, the law, and a transparent public process to determine what is needed to ensure that this irreplaceable and invaluable resource is protected for current and future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Damage Report<\/h2>\n

\u201cBristol Bay supports one of the world\u2019s most important salmon fisheries,\u201d said Regional Administrator for EPA Region 10 Casey Sixkiller. \u201cTwo decades of scientific study show us that mining the Pebble Deposit would cause permanent damage to an ecosystem that supports a renewable economic powerhouse and has sustained fishing cultures since time immemorial. Clearly, Bristol Bay and the thousands of people who rely on it deserve the highest level of protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Proposed Determination issued by EPA\u2019s Region 10 evaluates an extensive record of scientific and technical information that spans nearly two decades. The Proposed Determination finds that the discharge of dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble Deposit could result in unacceptable adverse effects on salmon fishery areas in certain waters within the Bristol Bay watershed. One example of an adverse impact is the permanent loss of 8.5 miles of streams would result in fish displacement, injury, and death.\u202fThe Proposed Determination takes into consideration information that has become available since the Agency\u2019s 2014 proposal\u2014including new scientific analyses and the Pebble Limited Partnership\u2019s 2020 Mine Plan.<\/p>\n

Salmon Summary<\/h2>\n

Bristol Bay\u2019s salmon resources have significant nutritional, cultural, economic, and recreational value, both within and beyond the region. The total economic value, including subsistence uses, of the Bristol Bay watershed\u2019s salmon resources was estimated at more than $2.2 billion in 2019. The Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery generates the largest component of this economic activity, resulting in 15,000 jobs and an economic impact of $2.0 billion in 2019, $990 million of which was in Alaska.<\/p>\n

The Proposed Determination proposes to prohibit discharges of dredged or fill\u202fmaterial associated with mining the Pebble\u202fdeposit into waters of the United States within the mine site footprint for the 2020 Mine Plan located in the South Fork Koktuli River, North Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds.\u00a0\u00a0It also proposes to restrict discharges of dredged or fill material associated with any future plan to mine the Pebble deposit into certain waters of the South Fork Koktuli River, North Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds that\u202fwould result in adverse effects\u202fsimilar to\u202fthose associated with the 2020 Mine Plan. The prohibition and restriction in the revised Proposed Determination only apply to discharges of dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble Deposit. This action does not apply to any other resource development projects in the state of Alaska.<\/p>\n

EPA Region 10 will solicit public comments on the revised Proposed Determination at public hearings in June and by written submissions through July 5. For more information, visit: www.epa.gov\/bristolbay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Sebastian Voortman<\/a><\/strong> from Pexels<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Enivronmental Protection Agency has your back, salmon. At least, as far as the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay goes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[70],"tags":[506,67,1095,206,1094,1072,139],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8511"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8511"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8514,"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8511\/revisions\/8514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seafood-harvest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}