RDC NEWS DIGEST
RDC submits brief to Supreme Court
RDC filed an amicus brief in the Coeur Alaska/State of Alaska v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council Supreme Court case.
The case involves the proposed Kensington gold mine which has gone through multiple Environmental Impact Statements with millions of dollars spent on environmental studies and engineering plans. Over the years, RDC has submitted numerous comment letters, given testimony, and engaged its membership in doing the same.
Due to its potentially serious impact on the responsible development of Alaska’s resources, the disproportionately large effect on RDC’s Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Regional Corporation members, as well as the precedent it may set, RDC’s executive committee felt it was vital to file the brief.
Michael Jungreis of Hartig, Rhodes, Hoge & Lekisch authored the brief with the involvement of many on the RDC Board. A copy of the brief may be found at: http://www.akrdc.org/issues/mining/ kensingtonamicusbrief.pdf.
A decision will be forthcoming from the high court in 2009.
RDC urges State administration of NPDES
In a letter to the EPA urging the approval for the State of Alaska’s application to administer the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, RDC emphasized the need for Alaska’s industries to have access to local, qualified regulators that understand the unique characteristics of Alaska.
RDC noted Alaska is one of only five states in the union that does not have primacy over the program, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has worked tirelessly to ensure state standards exceed the existing EPA standards. ADEC has also fully involved the public, including rural and Alaska Native perspectives, in its decision-making process, RDC said. RDC pointed out its members across all resource sectors have a great interest in ensuring Alaska’s waters are clean, safe, and pure.
In addition to its comment letter, RDC also provided oral testimony at a hearing in Anchorage on July 23. Please see comment letter.
State sues to overturn polar bear listing
The State of Alaska has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia seeking to overturn U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
“We believe that the Service’s decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available,” said Governor Palin.
The State believes the Service’s analysis failed to adequately consider the polar bears’ survival through prior warming periods, and its findings that the polar bear is threatened by sea-ice habitat loss and inadequate regulatory mechanisms to address sea-ice recession are not warranted. The State also believes the Service failed to adequately consider the existing regulatory mechanisms, including conservation measures within Alaska and the international community, which have resulted in a sustainable worldwide polar bear population that has more than doubled in number over the last 40 years to 20,000-25,000 bears.
The State takes seriously its obligation and interest in the management, conservation, and regulation of all wildlife and other natural resources within its jurisdiction, Palin’s office noted in announcing the lawsuit. The State noted Alaska is also responsible for the welfare of its citizens, who are concerned that the unwarranted listing of the polar bear as a threatened species will have a significant adverse impact on Alaska by deterring activities such as commercial fisheries, oil and gas exploration and development, transportation, and tourism within and off-shore of Alaska.
Beluga whale population holds steady
The Cook Inlet beluga whale population has held steady from last year’s count of 375 animals, based on NOAA’s Fisheries Service latest annual aerial survey conducted this summer.
In 2007, NOAA accepted a petition to list the Cook Inlet beluga whale as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The agency declared the Cook Inlet population depleted in 2000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
In 2006, 302 belugas were counted. A final determination following completion of the population status review is due in late October.
RDC supports new lease sale plan
In comments submitted to the U.S. Minerals Management Service last month, RDC supported the immediate creation of a new Five-Year Outer Continental Self (OCS) leasing program for 20102015.
Improved and accelerated access to offshore waters in an environmentally-sensitive way could significantly improve the nation’s domestic energy situation and provide economic stimulus, RDC said. Beginning the process now could give the new administration in Washington D.C., a two-year head start in expanding offshore energy production at a time when high energy prices pose a serious threat to our economy, RDC noted.
With energy prices threatening the the standard of living for many Americans, RDC urged development of untapped OCS energy resources. Most of the nation’s oil and gas is located offshore, an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.Yet 86 percent of the OCS is off limits to development.
RDC supports expanded OCS development because it is confident operations can occur safely and with little impact to the environment. OCS development has an outstanding safety and environmental record spanning decades. Development has coexisted with other industries, including fishing in Cook Inlet, the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, OCS production would provide many benefits, including new jobs in rural and urban areas, additional tax and royalty income to the states, new local sources of fuel and energy, and improved search and rescue operations.
RDC urged that any new Five-Year Plan include revenue-sharing from the OCS with local communities in Alaska and elsewhere. RDC said any leasing plan should require state-of-the-art oil spill response and consider mitigation measures to minimize impacts to other resource industries, traditional lifestyles and the environment.
Please see RDC’s comment letter.
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