LOOKING FOR AN OPERATOR – Work continues today on the haulout at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. On Tuesday the Assembly voted to issue an invitation to bid to Highmark Maritime Services of Kodiak for operation of the marine haulout and boatyard at the park. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

 

Officials Hear Doubts About Boatyard Fees
29 Jan 2025 15:09

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The Assembly gave unanimous approval Tuesday night to [ ... ]

City Welcomes News Funding Freeze Lifted
29 Jan 2025 15:07

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    City staff breathed a sign of relief today with the n [ ... ]

Blatchley Wrestling Team Prepares for Season
29 Jan 2025 14:04

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
    Dozens of athletes have turned out for Blatchley Midd [ ... ]

'Slinky Pot' Viewed As Fish Board Starts Work
29 Jan 2025 13:56

By ANNA LAFFREY
Ketchikan Daily News
During a break in the Alaska Board of Fisheries Southeast Alaska/ [ ... ]

Trump's Bid to Freeze Funds Rattles Alaskans
29 Jan 2025 13:32

By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
    President Donald Trump’s order to pause the spending of billion [ ... ]

Alaskans Lagging In Meeting Health Goals
29 Jan 2025 13:31

By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
    Midway through the decade, Alaskans have failed to make significa [ ... ]

Gov Cites Growth In State of State Speech
29 Jan 2025 13:25

By JAMES BROOKS and
CORINNE SMITH
Alaska Beacon
    Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivered an aspiratio [ ... ]

January 29, 2025, Police Blotter
29 Jan 2025 13:21

Sitka Police received the following calls as of midnight last night.

January 28
At 8:59 a.m. a caller  [ ... ]

January 29, 2025, Community Happenings
29 Jan 2025 13:19

T’ai Chi Chihr/>Planned Feb. 1
T’ai Chi Chih Practice will be held 10 a.m. Saturday,  Feb. 1, at th [ ... ]

Petition Backer Reports On Drive for Signatures
28 Jan 2025 15:45

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Sponsors of an initiative to limit cruise ship touris [ ... ]

Wolves Start Off Basketball Season Strong
28 Jan 2025 15:34

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
    Continuing a streak of season wins against opponents  [ ... ]

House Looks at Boost In School BSA Funds
28 Jan 2025 15:30

By CORINNE SMITH
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    Education funding is back on the docket for the Alaska Legislatu [ ... ]

Gov. Attacks Unpermitted Public Protest
28 Jan 2025 15:25

By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
    One year after a similar proposal failed to pass the state Legisl [ ... ]

Report: Health Care Workers Needed
28 Jan 2025 15:23

By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
    Facing steep growth in demand, constant turnover and employee ret [ ... ]

January 28, 2025, Police Blotter
28 Jan 2025 15:11

Sitka Police received the following calls as of midnight last night.
January 27
A person reported a vi [ ... ]

January 28, 2025, Community Happenings
28 Jan 2025 15:07

Matching Funds
Available for BHV
Every dollar donated to Brave Heart Volunteers in Feburary will be ma [ ... ]

Threats to Economy Seen in Cruise Petition
27 Jan 2025 15:55

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The rise in cruise ship visitors in recent years has  [ ... ]

Board of Fish Opens SE Meeting Tuesday
27 Jan 2025 15:27

By Anna Laffrey
Ketchikan Daily News
Flights to the First City are filling up, hotels are fully booked [ ... ]

Experts to Study Floods At Mendenhall Glacier
27 Jan 2025 15:20

By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
    After two consecutive years when meltwaters burst out of a basin  [ ... ]

January 27, 2025, Police Blotter
27 Jan 2025 14:49

Sitka Police received the following calls as of midnight last night.
January 24
At 5:05 a.m. a residen [ ... ]

January 27, 2025, Community Happenings
27 Jan 2025 14:47

Life Celebration
For Barry Mckee
A celebration of the life of Barry Mckee, 75, will be held 7 p.m. Feb [ ... ]

Study: Invasive Pike Find Way to Salmon Prey
24 Jan 2025 15:53

By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
    In the fall of 2018, officials with the Alaska Department of Fish [ ... ]

Sean Parnell to Retire As Chancellor of UAA
24 Jan 2025 15:29

By CORINNE SMITH
Alaska Beacon
    University of Alaska Anchorage Chancellor Sean Parnell has annou [ ... ]

January 24, 2025, Community Happenings
24 Jan 2025 15:15

Climate Connection: Carbon Dioxide Removal
Our ongoing burning of fossil fuels has continued to incre [ ... ]

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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Pebble Mine Developer Sees Army Corps OK

By BECKY BOHRER
 
The Associated Press

JUNEAU (AP) — The developer of a proposed copper and gold mine near the headwaters of a major U.S. salmon fishery in southwest Alaska believes it’s on track to win key federal approvals, with the release of an environmental review suggesting the Pebble Mine would not measurably affect fish numbers.

Critics called the review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inadequate. The review “is not the thorough, science-based assessment that we were promised,” Frances Leach, executive director of United Fishermen for Alaska, said in a news release.

A permitting decision is expected later this year. The corps said it will be a joint decision with the U.S. Coast Guard, whose authorization is needed for some proposed bridges. Authorization also is needed by the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Should the mine advance, it would need state approvals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which under the Obama administration proposed restricting development of the project, could invoke that so-called veto process again if it deemed that necessary. 

Pebble opponents, who believe the project got a lifeline under the Trump administration, also expect litigation if a permit is approved and say a change in administration could influence the project’s trajectory.

If Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins in November, “we will find ourselves in a very different position relative to the Pebble Mine than we do today,” said Joel Reynolds, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Biden was vice president during the Obama administration.

The Pebble Limited Partnership, which is owned by Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and working to advance the mine, saw as unfair the attempt to restrict development, which was never finalized and was dropped by EPA last year. The Pebble partnership argued the proposed restrictions were based on hypothetical mine plans and that the project should have a chance to go through the permitting process.

Tom Collier, Pebble partnership CEO, has expressed confidence in the outcome of the corps’ process, saying Pebble believes the planned mine “will be judged to be a project of merit” and receive a favorable permitting decision as early as this summer. 

Northern Dynasty, for years, has been looking for a partner, and Pebble sees securing approval from the corps as aiding that effort.

The corps, when it makes a decision, could issue a permit, approve a permit with conditions or issue a denial. Reynolds said a denial wouldn’t prevent Pebble from filing another application, but he said a denial would be the “final nail in the coffin for any further investor interest.”

The corps must wait at least 30 days from the publishing of the environmental review before entering a record of decision.

Pebble is proposing an open-pit mine and related infrastructure in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. The partnership, on its website, says the mine “will NOT harm the fish” and that the permitting process will validate that. It says the Pebble Mine would create jobs.

Collier said in the environmental review process, the corps was designated the umpire.

“We took our science to the corps and the other side took their science to the corps and the corps was the umpire and they called it our way,” he said.

Tim Bristol, executive director of SalmonState, a group that advocates for salmon and salmon habitat, said the EPA has powers it could invoke. He also predicted litigation.

“I think as people dig into the document they will find that the quality of the science is so lacking, there are so many gaps and so many flaws that’s it’s going to be litigated from here to kingdom come,” he said.

The EPA has said the Bristol Bay watershed supports the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world. Salmon also is important to Alaska Native communities that rely on it for subsistence. 

The corps review states that under normal operations, the alternatives it looked at “would not be expected to have a measurable effect on fish numbers and result in long-term changes to the health of the commercial fisheries in Bristol Bay.”

Under the alternative, identified as Pebble’s preferred option, the direct impact area would include permanent impacts to about 2,230 acres of wetlands and other waters and 105 miles of streams, and there would be temporary or indirect impacts to others, according to the report.

The corps said it made changes based on comments to an earlier released draft and filled gaps identified in the draft, including for wetlands and vegetation data.

Pebble critics say the corps’ review has been rushed and questioned the feasibility of a proposed route that crosses land that Pebble does not have permission to use. The corps previously said it had preliminarily determined a northern transportation route to be part of a “least environmentally damaging practicable alternative.” 

The Igiugig Village Council, in a statement, said its lands in the area are not available for use. The council “is committed to the sustainability and health of future generations and Pebble does not fit into our vision for a thriving future,” the statement said.

Mike Heatwole, a Pebble spokesperson, has said Pebble intends to engage with landowners along the northern route and believes it “will be successful in obtaining access to the transportation corridor necessary for the project.”

Collier said work remains on mitigation plans that will be factored in as part of a final decision.

 

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20 YEARS AGO

January 2005

Bomb threats were placed to both Sitka High and Blatchley Middle School this morning. The threats were the third and fourth such threats made to Sitka schools in less than a month.Sitka Police Detective Roger Stevener said all four threats are believed related, and police are following several leads, including phone records.

50 YEARS AGO

January 1975

December 1974’s list of complaints registered at the Police Department zoomed to 303, more than 100 above the same month last year. As a result of the complaints, 199 arrests were made, compared to only 41 a year ago.

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