ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Februray 28, 2014 — The following was released by Bristol Bay United:
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would begin a process under section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to protect Bristol Bay from harmful mining development. Shoren Brown, Executive Director of Bristol Bay United, issued the following statement in support of the EPA’s decision to use the Clean Water Act in Bristol Bay:
“The EPA’s announcement that it is formally evaluating options to protect Bristol Bay from the risks associated with mining the Pebble deposit is welcome news for Bristol Bay. What is clear from the EPA’s scientific assessment is that mines like Pebble unacceptably threaten the habitat and communities that make Bristol Bay the world’s largest wild salmon fishery, a destination for sportsmen everywhere, and the home to subsistence cultures for millennia. EPA’s announcement is an appropriate and measured step to protect this extraordinary place and we trust the agency will follow the science as it makes its final determination.
"The people of Bristol Bay have been coping with the economic and social uncertainty posed by the potential development of a mine like Pebble for the last decade. We need to move past this threat and continue creating economic growth and opportunities for the region consistent with the world-class fishery that already exists.”
Bristol Bay United is an unprecedented coalition of Alaska Natives, commercial fishing industry members, and sport-fishing interests who are unified in opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine.