Testimony of Deantha Crockett, Executive Director
Alaska Miners Association
June 4, 2012 Anchorage, AK

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EPA DRAFT Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment

Good evening. My name is Deantha Crockett, and I am the Executive Director of the Alaska Miners Association. AMA is a non-profit membership organization established in 1939 to represent the mining industry in Alaska.

While my association generally concerns itself with issues affecting the mining industry, we feel the Bristol Bay watershed assessment isn’t about mining at all. It’s not about the proposed Pebble Project, or even effects on salmon habitat. It’s about preemptively stopping a project before it even enters the permitting process. When our nation, state, or community begins to stop projects before they even submit plans for review, we lose our ability to manage the economy and provide jobs for our people. Let me be clear: a preemptive decision on a project, whether it is approval or denial, is unacceptable to the Alaska Miners Association.

The State of Alaska has a strong permitting system; in fact, we believe we have the best regulatory system in the world. We have responsibly operating mines that boast many accomplishments in environmental protections and reclamation. However, the mining industry is so often tagged with negative perceptions that these achievements are diminished or even brushed aside. Our mines provide full-time, high paying jobs, with an average wage of $100,000 to Alaskan residents right in the communities mines are located near. Who better to take care of their environment, than the ones who call it home?

In regards to this assessment, spending less than a year to assess an area of 20,000 square miles is irresponsible. The fact that the assessment was compiled with no firsthand, on the ground data gathering is also irresponsible. The EPA must go back and provide adequate time for the assessment to be comprehensive and based on sound science, or even better, drop the assessment process altogether.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.