The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 6 of 6
As almost everyone knows, if you want to do something, anything at all, in our deeply-regulated society you have to take your hat in your hand, bow deeply before the local personification of the government, be it federal, state or local, pay the posted homage and say the magic words "May I ...?" Whereupon, the "authorized agent" strokes his or her chin thoughtfully, consults with a wide variety of "experts", engages the general public, through notices and hearings and...
If anyone has not yet read Mike Satre’s excellent editorial in the October 2019 edition of the Alaska Miner magazine they should stop what they are doing right now and read what he has to say. Mike reports on a presentation that was made to a “Mining Symposium” on Prince of Wales Island on April 24, 2019, by Southeast Alaska Conservation Council representatives Heather Evoy and Sarah Davidson. The presentation was called "Social Impacts of Mining and Engaging with Mining Compa...
Earlier this month the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced that they were proposing “a clear, understandable, and implementable definition of the waters of the United States that clarifies federal authority under the Clean Water Act.” Although the proposed regulations have not been published in the Federal Register quite yet, a 253-page prepublication version has been released on EPA’s website, and it is well worth the read....
About 26 months ago, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources announced its intention to modify the regulations concerning the location of mining claims on state land. The process of amending regulations is a clumsy one at best, complicated by substantial considerations of public interest, judicial interpretations and stakeholder concerns. Mining is the second largest industry in Alaska, and the vast bulk of mining interests are on state land. Furthermore, the potential for...
In almost fifty years of having practiced law, it has consistently been my counsel to my clients to avoid litigation wherever possible, subject to a lengthy list of qualifications. Certain miscreants are entitled to a trial of their peers before lengthy incarceration or worse. Some bad actors simply don't understand the law. Occasionally, there are issues that require a referee in the personae of a judge. And then, there are matters of principle. Principles are tricky things....
Recently, in litigation pending before the federal district court in Anchorage, the Pebble Project withstood an attack seeking to defeat the project's opposition to what may be called the Massacre of 2012. When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency promulgated its Bristol Bay Watershed study under the theoretical authority of Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act, it was immediately criticized on the grounds that the report was generated on the basis of advice from certain...
