The state’s leaders are dealing bT_S WL]RP M`ORP_ OPʭNT_^ LYO are cutting spending, which is unpopular. But for the agen- cies that issue permits for de- velopment activity like mining, particularly in the departments of natural resources and envi- ronmental conservation, and _SP^_L_Pʭ^SLYORLXPOP[L]_ - ment’s habitat division, agencies have maintained the funding they need to regulate Alaska’s resource industries. Natural Resources Commis- ^TZYP] .Z]]T 1PTRP bL^ ^TRYTʭ - cantly engaged throughout the process of developing DNR’s bud- get this year. As a new admin- T^_]L_TZY NZXTYR TY_Z ZʯNP _SL_ wasn’t the case last year. “I’m upbeat about where this is headed, Goodrum said. “We have massive opportunities par- ticularly in critical and strategic minerals, and we want to be out telling our story to attract ad- ditional investors and increase exploration and development.” /P^[T_P T_^ OPʭNT_^ _SP ^_L_P is increasing its own invest- ment in support of mining. Money was added to budgets for the Division of Mining, Land LYO BL_P] _SP :ʯNP ZQ ;]ZU - ect Management and Permitting and the Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, even though the Department of Natu- ral Resources overall had to take a modest cut, as did many other state agencies. Budgets up in agencies that support mining The governor’s planned bud- get for Fiscal 2021, which be- gins next July, has an increase of $595,000 in general funds to in- crease the DNR agencies’ capaci- ty to review environmental stud- ies and permit applications for projects like the Ambler access
industrial road and large proj- ects that are planned, including Donlin Gold and Pebble, and the Bureau of Land Management’s pending Central Yukon land plan. The budget also proposes $500,000 in state funds to par- ticipate in a $2 million critical mineral mapping initiative in partnership with the U.S. Geo- logical Survey (USGS), the Earth Mapping Resource Initiative, or Earth MRI.
ɭ:YPZQ_SPʭ]^_^_P[^bL^_Z evaluate where Alaska has ‘ac- ceptable quality’ modern air- borne geophysical surveys,” Go- odrum said. @YOP] 0L]_S 8=4 _SP ʭ]^_ Alaska magnetic and radiomet- ]TN^`]aPdbTWWMPʮZbYTY^`X - mer 2020 in the eastern Interior, in the Tanana River uplands east of Delta.
CONTINUED on PAGE 10
Most people would be intimidated by a job description that said: “plant 27,000 trees - by hand.” But for the land reclamation crew at Usibelli Coal Mine, it’s all in a days work. This past summer, they planted trees on over 200 acres of coal mining lands. Usibelli Coal Mine restores every acre of disturbed land back to natural habitat. We started doing this in 1970, years before the law required it. Our goal is to leave Alaska as we found it — wild and beautiful. ALASKA’S GREEN MAKEOVER
Visit us at: USIBELLI.COM Vi US
9
January 2020
The Alaska Miner
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