Alaska commission urges swift action

The report of the 2005 Alaska Minerals Commission, published in January, stresses the urgent need to overcome the twin obstacles of permitting and lawsuits at a time when the mining industry is experiencing a dramatic upsurge in activity. Since its creation in 1986 the commission has made annual recommendations to the governor and Legislature on ways to mitigate constraints on the development of minerals, including coal, in the state.

"Despite the improvements in 2004, the industry continued to be dogged by an array of frustrating issues and investment disincentives," the report says. "Environmental obstructionists continued to throw up hurdles despite genuine, cooperative project design and permitting work on the industry's part. Spurious lawsuits and appeals continue without litigation reform, and the obstructionists continue to sway public opinion using misleading Toxic Inventory Release data."

The Murkowski administration has improved the efficiency of permitting, but there is still room for improvement, according to the report. "Many of the permitting challenges come from the federal side, and are beyond the ability of the state to control, but the state can still encourage the federal permitting agencies to (be) accountable and to provide timely, responsive project review and permit issuance in cooperation with state agencies."

Significant initiatives from state government

However, state government has provided "significant, tangible initiatives" in 2004, the report added. "The programs have not only benefited the industry directly, but also improved the perception of the state in the eyes of outside investors. The commission is of the opinion that the governor, the legislature and the agencies are doing their part to build the framework for a robust, sustainable, environmentally responsible industry that benefits Alaskans in all corners of the state."

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting "may be the greatest obstacle to timely development of mines in Alaska," the report says. "The EPA currently conducts NPDES permitting, compliance and enforcement for the state of Alaska." Alaska is one of only five states that do not have primacy over the NPDES program. The other four states are Idaho, Massachusetts, New Mexico and New Hampshire.

In 2004 the commission advised the governor to give careful consideration to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's recommendations on whether to seek primacy over the federal NPDES program. The department's work group agreed in January 2005 that the state should seek primacy. The commission requested the governor to seek legislation and funding for NPDES program primacy during the 2005 legislative session. The state would then have full responsibility for regulating discharges to Alaska's waters.

Following the report's publication, Gov. Frank Murkowski did introduce legislation to set in motion an application to the EPA for state primacy.

"As Alaskans, we owe our children and grandchildren a clean environment and a strong economy.

This legislation would allow us to better accomplish that goal," Murkowski said in a release Feb. 17.

"My proposal would give Alaskans the power to issue permits that reflect our priorities and unique conditions, in other words, permits that make sense to Alaska." Currently, the state said, an Alaska applicant could wait as long as 31 months for an NPDES permit.

In Washington state, which has primacy over wastewater permits, the wait is about eight months.

Along with its efforts to streamline the permitting process, the commission praised the administration's "Roads to Resources" initiative as another example of state assistance for the mining industry. "These programs have bolstered the outside perception of Alaska as a quality place to invest," the report says. The access road that the state is building to the Rock Creek mine near Nome is one notable example.

DGGS has released new data

The Minerals Branch of the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys "continued to provide quality data despite being hobbled by crushing budgetary constraints," the report says. In 2004 DGGS released a geological map of the northern half of the Livengood area north of Fairbanks and a final version of the bedrock geologic map of the Salcha River-Pogo region near Delta. The agency also began geological field work in the Council geophysical tract northeast of Nome and conducted a small airborne geophysical survey over the Goodpaster River area southwest of Pogo.

"Alaska is one of the most poorly mapped regions of the world and ranks far behind many Third World countries in spending for geologic data acquisition," the report says.

"There is now a window of opportunity to efficiently accelerate this work.

As a result of the record 2004 fire season in Alaska, the ground vegetation on large tracts of state land was destroyed.

As a result, the rock outcrops and geologic structures in these areas will be considerably more exposed for the next couple of years, allowing for efficient and thorough geological mapping.

The burned areas should be reviewed, and those in geologically favorable terrains should be scheduled for geophysical and geological mapping in the current budget."

More funding for mapping recommended

The commission recommends that the governor and Legislature provide additional funding of $1.3 million for geological mapping in fiscal year 2005, to take advantage of the lack of vegetation resulting from the 2004 fires. It also requests an increase in the annual rate of investment in geophysical surveys to a level greater than $700,000 per year. That was the amount proposed by Gov. Murkowski for 2005.

In the Education and Research section of the report, the commission noted that the University of Alaska Fairbanks integrated the School of Mineral Engineering into the College of Engineering and Mines in 2004. "The School of Mineral Engineering has had the reputation of being one of the best schools of mines in the United States," the report says. "There is strong concern that the school's focus on mining, geological and petroleum engineering will be significantly diminished within this broader context of general and civil engineering."

UAF needs to maintain standards in its mining program and step up efforts to recruit students, according to the commission, as in Alaska "mining is poised to become a premier employer of professional mining personnel." To address these issues, the commission requests the legislature to encourage UAF to maintain a world-class mine engineering degree program and that the Legislature ensures UAF has the financial resources to do this, including: a $125,000-$130,000 annual salary for a president's professor of mining and energy, and $25,000 a year for travel to Washington, D.C., to acquire grant monies and initiate new programs.

The commission also makes recommendations on several federal issues of state concern, including tailings impoundment classification, marine transportation, outdated land segregations and essential fish habitat. The commission was chaired by Irene Anderson of Bering Straits Native Corp., and its 10 vice-chairmen included representatives from Teck Pogo, Kennecott, Usibelli Coal Mine and other important groups involved with Alaska mining.