Protect Bristol Bay from this harmful open-pit mine
We need to protect Bristol Bay. Its lush green landscape of wetlands and blooming tundra may soon be torn apart for a mine.
Bristol Bay is wild and worth protecting.
Just as the Army Corps of Engineers closed the public comment period, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that the proposed plan is far worse than previously thought, and that the Army Corps ignored evidence. But the Army Corps is still moving forward.1
Bristol Bay is a haven for wild salmon — one of the last areas that these wild fish thrive. But in the same area where the salmon spawn, and the offspring spend their first few years before swimming out to sea, is the site of a proposed mine.
An open-pit mine doesn’t belong in this special place.
The Army Corps is currently moving forward with plans to construct what will be a large, polluting and dangerous gold and copper open-pit mine and a 188-mile natural gas pipeline, right in Bristol Bay.2
Then, the EPA weighed in with 100 pages of formal comments stating that the report on the mine’s environmental impact is lacking key details and underestimates the risk for water quality and fish habitat in the Bristol Bay watershed.3
Yet in the latest move of the administration’s push to proceed with the mine, the EPA’s Seattle regional administrator struck down proposed Obama-era restrictions that could have protected Bristol Bay.4
Take action to protect Bristol Bay.
It’s clear, mining in Bristol Bay would be extremely disruptive to the area, tearing up the land, polluting the water, and harming the wildlife. Now, the Army Corps needs to listen to the comments from the public and stop the Pebble Mine.
More than 14,000 Environmental Action supporters have called on the mine’s investors to divest from the project, and tens of thousands more submitted public comments to oppose the project.
We need to make sure the Army Corps listens to us and stops this mining project.
1. Liz Ruskin, “EPA says report on Pebble Mine lacks detail, likely underestimates risks to water quality,” Alaska Public Media, July 2, 2019.
2. Hal Bernton, “Trump administration pushes for new look at proposed Alaska mine near sockeye spawning grounds,” The Seattle Times, July 11, 2019.
3. Liz Ruskin, “EPA says report on Pebble Mine lacks detail, likely underestimates risks to water quality,” Alaska Public Media, July 2, 2019.
4. Hal Bernton, “Trump EPA yanks Obama-era proposal to restrict mine development in salmon-rich Bristol Bay region,” The Seattle Times, July 30, 2019.