Usibelli talent enhances minerals commission

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed Bartly Coiley, Usibelli Coal Mine's environmental affairs manager, to the Alaska Minerals Commission in August. Coiley fills the seat vacated by another Usibelli employee, Charles Boddy. The commission makes recommendation to the governor and Legislature on ways to mitigate the constraints on development of minerals, including coal, in the state. There are 11 members of the commission, five of whom are appointed by the governor, three by the president of the Senate and three by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Coiley was raised in Alaska and obtained her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Montana State University in Bozeman. She has been with Usibelli since 1997. There is usually a representative of the coal industry on the minerals commission, Coiley told Mining News. Among her interests will be discussion of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting, land use permits and National Environmental Policy Act actions, she said: "We'll be working on some different ways to make NEPA come up with the times. It's a pretty tough program to get through."

Commission recommended state seek NPDES primary

Murkowski signed legislation on Aug. 27 that will begin the transfer of NPDES primacy from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. After completion of the transfer Alaska will become the 46th state to assume primacy of wastewater permitting. The Alaska Minerals Commission had encouraged the state to pursue primacy, in the hope that it would speed up the permitting process and that the process would be overseen by people familiar with Alaska conditions, not just Washington bureaucrats.

The state has to meet numerous federal government requirements before primacy can be assumed, probably within two or three years, according to Coiley. The NPDES permit is the hardest for mines to obtain because its conditions are very stringent, and without this permit mining companies cannot apply for other important permits. "On the face of it (primacy) looks like a very pragmatic and a practical way to go," Coiley said. But decisions about how the state implements the permitting process are where "the rubber hits the road," she added. For example, if the state uses third-party contractors, there will be more flexibility in staff schedules and staffing levels.

Usibelli is currently renewing an existing NPDES permit and also applying for another NPDES permit for re-mining of the Rosalie mine, which was mined in the 1960s, and would discharge water into Healy Creek in Interior Alaska. The company turned in its application for the permit in December 2001. "Once they start working on something it can go quite fast," Coiley said.

Charles Boddy is stepping down from the minerals commission because he is nearing retirement age and also because he has other commitments. He recommended Coiley as his replacement. "She's a very gifted, talented, articulate woman," Boddy told Mining News. "She's done a great job for us - one of the best I've ever worked with." The next meeting of the Alaska Minerals Commission is on Sept. 27 in Fairbanks.