Testimony of Rick Rogers, Executive Director
June 4, 2012 Anchorage, AK

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Good evening. My name is Rick Rogers, Executive Director of the Resource Development Council for Alaska.

The Resource Development Council for Alaska, Inc., is an Alaskan business association comprised of individuals and companies from Alaska’s oil and gas, mining, forest products, tourism, and fisheries industries. RDC’s membership includes Alaska Native Corporations, local communities, organized labor, and industry support firms. RDC’s purpose is to encourage a strong, diversified private sector in Alaska and expand the state’s economic base through the responsible development of our natural resources.

RDC has previously submitted comments regarding the Draft Assessment and 404(c) process and again urges the EPA to fully consider the following concerns regarding the assessment.

The EPA has not afforded Alaskans with adequate time to fully review the document. The public should have the full benefit of the work of the recently assembled Peer Review committee. We request that the comment period be extended by 120 days.

The EPA is embarking on an ill-conceived and unprecedented course of action by assessing the risks of hypothetical project scenarios. Our members are fearful that once this precedent is established, EPA will exercise its misguided preemptive strike to attempt to control land use and block resource and infrastructure development where it has neither the mandate nor the authority to do so.

If the EPA were to deny any project access to the state and federal permitting process, such action would be an assault on Alaska sovereignty. It simply is not the EPAs role to dictate to Alaskans appropriate uses of state lands outside the specific confines of reviewing permit applications for fill and discharges for specific projects.

Alaskans don’t need the EPA to remind us the importance of our fisheries for both commercial sport and subsistence economies. We also don’t need the EPA to tout negative impacts of unregulated mining. The EPA needs to be reminded that Alaska has a proud and exemplary record of ensuring that mining and fisheries can coexist. Pebble, like Alaska’s existing large producing mines, should be afforded rigorous review under NEPA and well established scientifically based permitting process that includes over 60 major State and Federal permits and authorizations. Alaska’s existing mines are operating to the highest standards and in harmony with our renewable resources. Pebble should be afforded the same opportunity to demonstrate it can meet these standards absent premature pre-decisional influence from the EPA.