DEC: EPA misleads public
Alaska’s Department of Environ- mental Conservation is again chal- lenging the Envinronental Protetion
“Today, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) calls on the EPA to develop a reporting
“releases” from Alaska mines reflects permitted and regulated activities – largely moving material to regulated treatment or onsite waste storage ar- eas. The TRI requires mining opera- tions to file reports of the naturally occurring trace minerals in excavat- ed overburden, spent rock, and tail- ings without acknowledging which of these materials were transferred to state-permitted, engineered, and monitored sites. The TRI assumes that these mate- rials cause environmental harm, when in fact they do not — especially since the materials are often contained in large rocks. “Moving rocks around from one pile to another at a permitted mine, according to EPA’s TRI report, is far worse than the recent train derail- ment and associated release of haz- ardous materials that has impacted thousands of people and devastat- ed the environment in Ohio,” said
Agency’s annual report that lists Alaska mines incorrectly as toxic sites because of how the report identifies toxic releases. “The U.S. Envi - ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) has once again published its an- nual Toxics Release In- ventory (TRI). The TRI catalogs the movement of chemicals that may be harmful to human health and the envi- ronment if handled
system that accurately reflects the actual risks associated with differ - ent types of releases. “By not specifying the manner of release, the TRI mischaracter- izes the harm to the public and frankly un- dermines the critical work regulators do,” said Jason Brune, DEC Commissioner. “EPA’s approach does more to fear monger than to alert the public of le-
BRUNE
gitimate risks.” According to the TRI data for 2021, Alaska’s metal mining industry ac- counts for 99.8 percent of the “re - leases” in Alaska. Out of that, approx- imately 99.56 percent of the reported
improperly. Unfortunately, the TRI does not distinguish between permit- ted activities and illegal, harmful re- leases,” the department said in a re- lease in March.
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Spring 2023
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