The proposed Pebble Mine project has the potential to dramatically impact Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery and the surrounding region. In December 2008, the BBRSDA issued a policy statement opposing Pebble, “until it can be proven that the value of the fishery will not be diminished by the proposed development.”

The BBRSDA’s full policy statement is available here, and other relevant materials are available at the bottom of this page.

This section provides our members with access to a broad range of information, maps, scientific research, videos, and significant news stories concerning the proposed Pebble mine. Inclusion of advocacy organizations on this page does not imply support of the BBRSDA.

Judge allows Pebble case against EPA to continue

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|June 4, 2015

 

By Elwood Brehmer, Alaska Journal of Commerce Pebble Limited Partnership’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency will continue as a federal judge Thursday morning denied the agency’s motion to dismiss. U.S. Alaska District Court Judge H. Russel Holland concluded that while the EPA may not have established the three “anti-mine” groups as described by Pebble […]

 

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Post should have taken a deeper look at EPA, Bristol Bay and Pebble

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|February 19, 2015

 

The story the Alaska Dispatch News reprinted, “Internal memos spur accusations of bias as EPA moves to block Pebble Mine,” (Feb. 16) from the Washington Post’s recent story on the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region doesn’t just omit some key facts — it fails to report the most relevant facts in telling the whole […]

 

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Bristol Bay commercial fishermen thank EPA for moving to protect global salmon marketplace

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|July 18, 2014

 

Today the U.S. EPA released its proposed determination in the Clean Water Act 404(c) process, issuing draft protections for the Bristol Bay watershed related to the proposed Pebble Mine. DILLINGHAM, AK – As Bristol Bay’s commercial fishermen are pulling their nets for the final time at the close of another historic sockeye salmon season, on […]

 

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Compass: Bristol Bay tribes stand ground against Pebble

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|June 27, 2014

 

By Robert Heyano–  June 26, 2014 As Bristol Bay has prepared for the new fishing season, the cloud of uncertainty continues to loom over us as the battle to protect our fish and way of life from large-scale mines like Pebble drags on into its second decade. In the past few weeks, we have […]

 

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Poll Finds 62% Alaskan Voters Oppose Development of Pebble Mine

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|June 19, 2014

 

A recent survey finds that polling numbers remain strong in opposition across Alaska to the proposed Pebble Mine. KDLG’s Luke Brummer has the story.

 

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BBRSDA Updates Fishermen on the Fight to Stop the Pebble Mine

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|June 19, 2014

 

Here is an excellent KDLG update on Pebble as the salmon season kicks off. There’s lots here, including from Kat Carscallen, Lisa Murkowski and others. Great reporting, as always, from our friends at KDLG!

 

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‘Regulatory Certainty Act’ Would Eliminate Certainty for Bristol Bay’s Salmon Industry

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|June 13, 2014

 

June 13, 2014 – Yesterday, Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) and Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced H.R. 4854, The Regulatory Certainty Act of 2014, which seeks to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from exercising its 404(c) authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to proactively protect our watershed and provide certainty for Alaska’s most valuable salmon […]

 

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Statement Regarding Pebble’s EPA Lawsuit

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|May 22, 2014

 

Today, the Pebble Limited Partnership filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency. Here is news coverage of that development. Statement from the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, May 22, 2014   Today’s lawsuit from the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) comes as no surprise. This is more of the same from a company with […]

 

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EPA watchdog reviewing agency’s work on Bristol Bay and Pebble mine

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information|May 19, 2014

 

This is from the Anchorage Daily News A government watchdog is reviewing the Environmental Protection Agency’s study of impacts from the proposed Pebble mine after mine owners complained that the EPA collaborated with Pebble opponents. EPA in February announced it was considering unprecedented use of its veto powers to block the Pebble mine, a huge […]

 

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BBRSDA statement regarding Pebble Limited Partnership’s Submission to EPA

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|April 30, 2014

 

DILLINGHAM – April 30, 2014 – Katherine Carscallen, Sustainability Director for the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, issued the following statement today after the Pebble Limited Partnership’s release of information regarding the EPA’s initiation of the section 404(c) process under the Clean Water Act. Full statement: “The Pebble Limited Partnership is not releasing anything […]

 

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Senate Bill to remove Clean Water Act authority to protect Bristol Bay gains momentum with Senator Murkowski’s support; impact on Bristol Bay salmon markets unclear

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|April 9, 2014

 

Advisory to the Fleet From: Sue Aspelund, Executive DirectorRecently, Senators David Vitter (LA) and Joe Manchin (VA) introduced Senate Bill 2156, the “Regulatory Fairness Act,” which would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from finishing its current Clean Water Act process to protect Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine. The BBRSDA released a statement […]

 

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In another blow to Pebble Mine, Rio Tinto pulls out

Posted in: Pebble Mine Information,Updates|April 7, 2014

 

The global mining firm Rio Tinto announced Monday that it will divest its 19 percent stake in the controversial Pebble Mine project in Alaska, donating its shares to two state charities. The decision is the latest blow to the proposed gold, copper and molybdenum mine, which is under federal scrutiny for how it could affect […]

 

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Anglo-American mining plans threaten millions of salmon

07/29/13 – The landscape of Alaska is where a massive dispute between the fishing and mining industries is escalating.

The issue has divided opinion in the US’s largest state and prompted warnings that one of the last great wild fisheries in the world is at risk.

Britain’s Anglo American and Canadian partner Northern Dynasty are pushing to develop a vast open cast copper mine, the largest ever in North America, in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, south west Alaska.

Every summer 40 million wild salmon swim in to the bay before heading up the rivers and streams of the region to spawn and die.

The bitter battle over Alaska’s salmon

07/23/2013 – Alaska’s fishing community and mining industry are engaged in a bitter battle, with fishermen arguing that a planned gold mine risks poisoning the waters where Pacific salmon spawn. The debate has forced Alaskans to consider what kind of future they want for their wild and sparsely-populated state.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski criticizes planners of proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska

07/09/2013 – Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, this week called for the release of Pebble Partnership’s detailed plans and a timeline for developing the Pebble Mine site near the headwaters of Bristol Bay in Southwest Alaska. In a letter to the leaders of Pebble Partnership released Tuesday, Murkowski said the group’s inaction in the permitting process continues to cause anxiety and confusion in the Alaskan communities near the site, located nearly 200 miles southwest of Anchorage on one of the largest salmon runs in the world.

Decisive victory for Bristol Bay: Nearly 70% of Americans who commented tell EPA to stop the Pebble Mine during EPA’s 2nd comment period on Bristol Bay watershed assessment

07/01/2013 – More than 360,000 Americans urged the EPA to save 14,000 American jobs by protecting Bristol Bay, Alaska from the construction of a massive open-pit gold and copper mine that would threaten our nation’s salmon industry with up to 10 billion tons of toxic waste. The EPA asked for Americans’ views of the project as part of its scientific assessment of the impacts of large-scale mining on the environment and the people living in Bristol Bay. This process ended on June 30, and a preliminary tally shows that 68% of 527,192 submissions during the second round of public comment support EPA’s findings and urge federal protection for Bristol Bay’s unmatched fishery resources and fishing economy.

Lobbying Heats Up in Fight Over Alaska Mine

06/18/2013 – Last week, Democratic senators from California, Oregon and Washington wrote to Obama to express concern about the potential effect of the Pebble Mine on their salmon fishing industries and demanding a “valid, sound science based approach to ensuring that Bristol Bay salmon are safeguarded.”

Senators urge Obama to block Alaska mine

06/10/2013 – Five Senate Democrats are calling on US President Barack Obama to consider blocking construction of a copper mine in Alaska, arguing it could jeopardise the pristine environment of America’s biggest salmon fishery. The concerns by lawmakers from the western states of California, Oregon and Washington could add to pressure on the Environmental Protection Agency to scupper the huge Pebble Mine project.

Editorial: Protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay

06/01/2013 – Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay is at risk from the proposed Pebble Mine.Protect the natural resource and commercial bounty of the fishery. Plans for a massive copper and gold mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay represent a long-term hazard to the health of an extraordinary source of wild salmon… The federal Environmental Protection Agency has looked askance at the mining plans, but made no decision. The epic scale of the proposal and its impact on vast expanses of rivers, streams and wetlands stir deep concerns.

Investing in Pebble mine: The Shively Spreadsheet Challenge

05/14/2013 – On behalf of my fellow Bristol Bay fishermen, past and present, I would like to issue a friendly challenge to the Pebble Limited Partnership, and specifically its Chief Executive Officer, John Shively. But first, let’s review a few things that we know about the Bristol Bay watershed and the proposed Pebble Mine…

Full Metal Sells Interest in Pebble South property to Pebble Limited Partnership

05/01/2013 – (“Full Metal) is pleased to announce that it entered into a Membership Interest Purchase and Sale Agreement with Pebble Limited Partnership (“PLP”), a 50:50 partnership between a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anglo American plc and a wholly-owned affiliate of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. pursuant to which PLP will purchase an unencumbered 100% membership interest in the joint venture entity (the “JV Co”) that is the indirect owner of a 100% interest in Full Metal’s Pebble South Property. In an agreement signed September 9, 2010, as subsequently amended and restated, PLP was earning a 60% membership interest in the JV Co that indirectly owns the Property.

Pursuant to the terms of the Membership Interest Purchase and Sale Agreement, PLP will purchase a 100% membership interest in the JV Co that indirectly owns the Property by making a US$750,000 cash payment to Full Metal Minerals. Proceeds from the sale will be used to advance the Full Metal’s wholly owned and joint ventured projects in Alaska, and for general working capital.

Full Metal is a generative exploration company with three joint ventures on precious and base metal projects in Alaska. An initial Resource Estimate for the Pyramid copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry deposit is expected shortly.

Bristol Bay: Largest Salmon Fishery vs Giant Mine Proposal

04/29/2013 – If Bristol Bay, Alaska is opened to mining, the ore deposit would be mined for decades, and the wastes would require management “for centuries or even in perpetuity,” finds a revised environmental assessment issued Friday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The revised assessment, released for peer review follow-up and public comment, finds that hundreds of streams, creeks and rivers where salmon now run could be jeopardized if mining chemicals spill, if a pipeline carrying ore concentrate or diesel fuel is breached, if dams containing mine tailings break open, or even if culverts are blocked by debris.

EPA: Alaska mine project could hurt salmon streams

04/26/2013 – Build-out of a large-scale mine near the headwaters of a world-class salmon fishery in Alaska could wipe out as many as 90 miles of streams and alter stream flows, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a revised assessment released Friday.

EPA deals blow to Alaska mine project

04/26/13 – A proposed mine near Alaska’s coast that’s garnered Capitol Hill attention would harm a habitat that houses nearly half the world’s sockeye salmon, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday.The EPA’s revised draft assessment of the Pebble Mine project’s potential impact on the aquatic ecosystem in Bristol Bay, Alaska determined the mine would destroy 90 miles of streams and up to 4,800 acres of wetland salmon habitat.

 

 

Investigation sought on statements regarding Pebble Mine

03/18/13 – Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA., is asking for a federal investigation into contradictory information provided by Northern Dynasty Minerals to federal officials regarding the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska.

Cantwell voiced her concerns about potential discrepancies in filing materials provided to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Northern Dynasty Minerals in a letter sent March 18 to Elisse Walter, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In formal testimony in August 2012 before the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Northern Dynasty referred to that report as a “fantasy proposal”

 

Governor Parnell, Pebble has a plan and you have it

03/18/13 – If there’s one thing salesmen know, it’s the abiding faith that if they say something over and over again, that it will become true (at least in terms of public perception).

So it’s no wonder that the Pebble Partnership has spent millions of dollars on advertising and lobbying to convince us that there is no plan to mine in Bristol Bay. Sadly, Alaska’s own Governor Sean Parnell has bought in, repeating this same tired rhetoric just this week at the world-famous Boston Seafood Show which he attends to represent the state of Alaska and our seafood industry.

Commercial Fishermen disappointed by EPA announcement to push back final Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment; delay hurts industry

02/06/13 – Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay – a network of nearly 100 organizations that support the fishermen and industry that harvests Bristol bay sockeye salmon – is disappointed by the EPA’s Feb. 5 announcement that it will conduct a second, duplicate review of its draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment.

EPA to release draft Bristol Bay assessment in spring

02/05/13 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it plans to release its draft revised assessment document of the Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment this spring and complete the assessment in 2013.

Commercial fishermen applaud EPA’s review process for Bristol Bay report

11/9/12 –  Commercial fishermen and their allies across the country voiced support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s peer review process regarding its comprehensive, scientific assessment of Bristol Bay.

The report, released today, demonstrates that EPA led a fair, transparent process and the independent panelists who reviewed the assessment found that EPA’s science and conclusions are solid.

Anglo American’s CEO steps down

10/29/12 – Cynthia Carroll, CEO of mining giant Anglo American has stepped down after 6 years at the head of the company. Lackluster profits and mismanagement of their mine sites around the world precipitated her departure, leaving growing doubt about the company’s future and their 50% stake in the Pebble Partnership. We hope Anglo American’s new leadership will realize what their former CEO failed to recognize: The Bristol Bay watershed is the wrong place to develop for the benefit of their struggling bottom line.

Huffington Post on Pebble

10/29/12 – Each year, the commercial and recreational salmon fisheries generate almost $500 million in revenue. Each year, the fishery generates thousands of permanent and temporary jobs, in a sustainable economy that promises countless billions in revenue for centuries to come. And each year, the fishery sustains the people and communities of the Bristol Bay region, as it has done for millennia. Because the Pebble Mine promises to destroy all of that, it is precisely the kind of project we can no longer afford — if indeed there ever was a time we could afford such recklessness.

A letter in The Wall Street Journal

10/29/12 – Running in The Wall Street Journal, Bristol Bay RSDA board member and commercial fishing captain John Fairbanks writes a letter that needs to be heard loud a clear.

Latest shot fired in the battle over Pebble Mine

10/26/12 – An initiative application filed Oct. 22 with the state of Alaska seeks to amend state statutes to require legislative approval for development of large-scale metallic sulfide mines within the Bristol Bay Fisheries Refuge.

Responding to the Wall Street Journal editorial on EPA and Bristol Bay

10/11/12 – The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an op-ed called “The EPA’s Pebble Beaching,” which called into question the EPA’s watershed assessment of Bristol Bay and its ability to create common sense restrictions which protect our fishery and fishing jobs.

Board member writes on Pebble and Bristol Bay for The Bellingham Herald

9/4/12 – BBRSDA board member and 25-year Bristol Bay fisherman John Fairbanks writes an opinion piece for The Bellingham Herald, titled “Mine Restriction would save Bristol Bay salmon.”

Mine project releases 30,000 pages of scientific study

2/27/12 – People pushing for the Pebble Mine Project said they are living up to a promise to make their plans public. The Pebble Partnership has released close to 30,000 pages of scientific study and put the information online.

EPA releases watershed assessment update

2/18/12 – This two-pager backgrounds the reader on the assessment – the hows, whys and whens. It also describes the key components of the assessment and how they are organized. It provides contact information for major players and specifies key dates and milestones between now and November, 2012, including the opportunities that the public will have to provide inputs.

Concerns raised about Pebble Mine study

2/26/12 – The group behind a massive copper and gold prospect near a world premier salmon fishery has released what it bills as “one of the most exhaustive environmental study programs in the history of U.S. mineral development.