My brother is up there working to prevent this. But everyone here can help by letting their Representative or Senator know that this blatant abuse of power needs to be prevented.
How can a mining company simply lie to get a mining permit and dump chemicals in a lake? They need to be prosecuted!
After having exhausted every possible avenue, SEACC filed a lawsuit challenging the Army Corps of Engineers permit allowing Coeur Alaska, Inc. to dump millions of tons of mine waste into a freshwater lake. This is a clear violation of the Clean Water Act--and of common sense--and the first time since the Clean Water Act was signed into law that a mine was permitted to dispose of its wastes in a lake.
We filed this lawsuit to protect Alaska's clean waters--and to protect the integrity of the Clean Water Act. If this precedent (disposing of mine waste in a lake) is allowed to stand, other mines will use it to destroy other lakes.
This lawsuit is likely to be controversial with mine supporters and others in the community and we can expect heated opposition.
SEACC needs your support--now!
Here's what you can do to help:
If you live in Juneau or Haines, write a letter to the editor of the Juneau Empire (400 words maximum, e-mail to editor@juneauempire.com) and/or to your own local newspaper.
If you live in Juneau, call or e-mail as many of the following Assembly members as you can:
Borough_Assembly@ci.juneau.ak.us
Bruce Botelho 586-5240
Marc Wheeler 586-1819
Johan Dybdahl 780-4409
Jeff Bush 586-3708
Merrill Sanford 463-4413
David Stone 463-6302
Randy Wanamaker 789-6855
Stan Ridgeway 789-1937
Dan Peterson 321-2599
If you live anywhere in Alaska, write and submit a letter to the editor to your local newspaper and call your State Senator and/or Representative. For contact information, please go to www.legis.state.ak.us/.
If you live outside of Alaska, call your U.S. Senator or Representative.
Please express your support for SEACC's efforts to protect clean water and Berners Bay.
Talking Points:
Coeur Alaska plans to dump its mine tailings into a freshwater lake in violation of the Clean Water Act. For a generation, the Clean Water Act has helped us protect and restore our lakes, rivers, and streams. It has safeguarded the health of our families and our fish and wildlife. Dumping mine waste into a lake is a big step backwards--it goes against everything Americans have worked to accomplish in the last thirty years.
The Army Corps' decision to allow the disposal of millions of tons of processed mine waste into a freshwater lake sets a dangerous precedent. Other mines will try to dump their wastes in other lakes. It is important to remember that the mining industry is the nation's largest industrial polluter.
The mine will industrialize Berners Bay. Mine infrastructure and boat traffic pose unnecessary risks to important herring spawning habitat, threatened Steller sea lions, and endangered humpback whales due to habitat loss and potential oil spills. Construction of two marine terminals in the bay, particularly Cascade Point at the south end of the bay, will likely lead to further development.
The long-term economic value of Berners Bay and its surrounding watershed is better served if we protect it rather than allow it to become industrialized.
More than 30 years ago, Congress enacted the Clean Water Act to end the use of public rivers and lakes as dumping grounds for industrial waste. The Army Corps' permit is inconsistent with the fundamental purpose of this law.
Coeur Alaska already has permits to develop this mine based on a different plan that does not require dumping millions of tons of processed mine waste into a lake and does not present as many threats to Berners Bay. The mining company abandoned this plan because it was too expensive. With gold prices presently over $400 per ounce, Coeur, as it stated in 1997, would be able to open this mine.
Thank SEACC for publicly defending Alaska's clean water and the Clean Water Act.
Please share this alert with your friends and families!
If you would like to contribute financially to this particular issue, please send SEACC a check with "Berners Bay" noted. We will use your contribution for this purpose. Your donations and support are greatly appreciated.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact SEACC at (907) 586-6942 or kat@seacc.org.
This is total BS. Let your representatives know that we won't stand for this example of fascism.