Executive Director’s Report
Delegation has, in the past, been passion- ate about defending the intent of the “No More” clause. We noted that the pur- suit of a land lock up does not appear to be over, with inclusions of funding to support study of placing value
Dear Members and Friends:
While field season is underway, AMA has been hard at work on your behalf, addressing the numer- ous federal policy changes, working with the State to promote more mining, and educating the public about our industry. In this column, I’d like to share our efforts on one particular issue that has been weighing on all of us: the politicization of the per- mitting process for the Pebble Project. Recently, members of AMA leadership met sep- arately with Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and Congressman Young to express our disappointment that some chose to forego defending what should have been an objective process, particularly fol- lowing an EIS that showed in fact that mining and fishing can coexist. It is worth reflecting that in its Final EIS, the Army Corps of Engineers concluded that mining: “would not be expected to have measurable effects on the number of adult salmon, and therefore would have no impact to commercial fisheries” “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” “There would be no measurable change in the number of returning salmon and the historical relationship be- tween ex-vessel values and wholesale values.” “No long-term measurable changes in the number of returning salmon are expected” Bill Jeffress, Karl Hanneman, Mike Satre, Lorali Simon and I voiced our concerns that the political circumvention of a science-based process that took place for Pebble has far wider implications than just one project, and in fact, puts all economic devel- opment at risk, as well as Alaska’s right to manage its own lands. We stressed that AMA members far outside of the Pebble Project are angry and dismayed at the flagrant abuse of our predictable, stable, and rigorous permitting process. We also examined the implications to state sov- ereignty. We reiterated that the Pebble deposit lies on lands specifically selected by the State for their mineral potential, for the ability to generate rev- enue from their development. We reminded them that with an estimated $600 billion in gross mineral value, development could significantly contribute towards fiscal challenges, the need for stable fam - ily-wage jobs, and other benefits. To hinder the State’s ability to develop its land specifically selected for this purpose, frankly, is a creep toward a vio- lation of the Alaska National Interest Lands Con- servation Act (ANILCA), and we observed that our
on the area depos- its and examination of possible land ex- changes. We firmly told the Delegation that AMA adamantly opposes any sort of “reserve” or land exchange that sets these lands aside in perpetuity. We also voiced concerns regarding the Corps denial of a permit through requiring unattainable mitigation requirements. We reiterated that the precedent set by the Corps’ decisions are already impacting other projects, and while the Pebble de- cision is still under appeal, the damage of an agen- cy issuing a permit decision based on politics has already been done. The Delegation committed to intervening in specific examples and administering a longer-term conversation on Corps policies. We asked for a return to support for science based permitting decisions. If a project can be done without damaging a fishery or other resources, we asked for leadership to help communicate that fact to inform the public. We left the conversations with an agreement to improve information sharing to support the three offices’ commitments to promote and defend our industry and regulatory process, both at home and in Washington DC. I want to thank Bill, Karl, Mike and Lorali for standing up and sharing concerns from their com- pany’s perspectives to demonstrate how broad a reach the Pebble decisions truly have. AMA will continue to insist upon the right for a project to experience a fair and stable permitting process, and for our policymakers to accept nothing less.
Respectfully,
Deantha Skibinski AMA Executive Director
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The Alaska Miner
Summer 2021
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