Fed decision against road threatens King Cove
Alaska’s state and federal leaders expressed deep frustration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) selection of a “no action” alternative in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the King Cove to Cold Bay access project.
“I cannot fathom why the Fish and Wildlife Service prioritized a perceived risk to birds over an existing threat to human life,” Governor Parnell said. “After years of good faith efforts by the State of Alaska, the Alaska Legislature, the Aleutians East Borough, the City of King Cove, the King Cove Corporation, regional tribes, and local residents to work with the federal government, the USFWS chose to deny King Cove residents access to basic services, like all-weather medical evacuation.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski condemned the decision, pointing out that bad weather frequently closes the King Cove airport and people have died trying to reach hospitals. “The decision is unacceptable and reflects a wanton disregard for the lives of the Aleut people who have called the Aleutians home for thousands of years, “ she said.
Congressman Don Young called the decision shameful and Senator Mark Begich said it was wrong headed.
More than a dozen deaths have been attributed to the lack of a road, including four people who died in a 1981 plane crash during a medical evacuation.
The road alternatives in the EIS required roughly 200 acres of federal land for a nine-mile road corridor to complete a 25-mile link between King Cove and Cold Bay’s all-weather airport. In a land exchange that depends on a road being built, the State and King Cove Corporation offered approximately 56,000 acres to be added to the Izembek and Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge.
The community of King Cove and the Aleutians East Borough have sought the narrow one-lane gravel road for many years as an alternative to a weather-dependent hovercraft. Operation of the hovercraft has proven expensive and unreliable. A road link is vital when residents of King Cove require immediate medical evacuation. It is estimated the gravel lane, closed to commercial traffic, would carry 10-15 cars daily in a refuge already containing 40 miles of roads.
“The weather in that region is some of the most dangerous in the world,” Parnell said. “The residents need and deserve a safe, reliable transportation option. A road will save lives, and is the only workable long-term solution.”
Murkowski noted that “if the environmental review process doesn’t allow for valuing the health and safety of a community then it is irrevocably broken.” She said the Interior Secretary is not bound by the environmental review and that it is imperative the Secretary meets face to face with the people whose lives are at risk before making a final decision.
EPA revising Bristol Bay watershed assessment
The EPA is revising its controversial Bristol Bay watershed assessment. A draft assessment of how large-scale mining could potentially affect the Bristol Bay watershed was released in May 2012.
The agency conducted an external peer review of the document and is making arrangements for the 12 original peer reviewers to evaluate the revisions the agency has made to the draft assessment. EPA’s goal is to determine if these revisions reflect the peer reviewers’ feedback. This peer review follow-up will be conducted this spring.
The agency intends to hold a public comment period on the revised assessment concurrent with the peer review evaluation.
Donlin Gold EIS process begins
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers has begun the Environmental Impact Statement process for the Donlin Gold project. A series of 13 public scoping meetings are scheduled in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region through March. Written comments are due March 29.
The EIS will identify the impacts of issuing permits for an open pit, hard rock gold mine 10 miles north of the village of Crooked Creek on the Kuskokwim River in Southwest Alaska. Public input during the scoping process can help shape the direction of the EIS analysis.
If built, Donlin Gold would produce gold from a major ore-body, through a subsurface lease with Calista Corporation, and a surface use agreement with the Kuskokwim Corporation. The proposed mine and facilities would have a total foot print of about 16,300 acres. There is currently no road or rail access to the site, nor existing power.
Major components would include a 313-mile, 14-inch diameter, buried natural gas pipeline from the west side of Cook Inlet to the mine site. Transportation infrastructure would include barge facilities, a 30-mile road to the mine site, and a 5,000-foot airstrip.
The project could generate more than 1,000 jobs and provide a strong economic base for the region.
Donlin is located in a region of Alaska that experiences some of the highest unemployment rates and has very few other opportunities.
“Through the exploration stages, Donlin has shown a strong commitment to local hire and for supporting communities and cultures in the region,” said Marleanna Hall, RDC’s Projects Coordinator. She said the project is a rare opportunity to improve the local economy where few other opportunities exist.
“If developed, RDC believes it will be done in a way that creates opportunity for local employment and economic growth, while protecting the subsistence resources and culture of the region, and protecting the environment,” Hall testified at a scoping hearing in Anchorage last month.
She urged the Corps to include the following in the EIS: the social and economic benefits of this project to the region, state, and to the nation; the potential for lower cost energy options to the region; and, job opportunities leading to reduced out-migration, which will help maintain rural schools and culture.
Alaska has seven existing large producing mines that were permitted under NEPA and the scientifically based permitting process that includes over 60 major State and Federal permits.
For additional information and where to send comments, visit DonlinGoldEIS.com. RDC has also prepared an action alert at akrdc.org.
NOAA to list seals on Endangered Species Act
NOAA Fisheries has announced its final decision to list four subspecies of ringed seals and two distinct population segments of bearded seals under the Endangered Species Act.
The State is evaluating a potential challenge to the listing of the ringed and bearded seals. The ringed seal population currently numbers in the millions and there are hundreds of thousands of bearded seals. The State contends no evidence was presented demonstrating either species is experiencing a decline now or will so by mid-century.
The State said NOAA listed the species primarily on climate models predicting sea ice habitat changes nearly 100 years into the future. The State called such models highly speculative.
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