Parnell appeals anti-Pebble initiative ruling

Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell has appealed a lower court ruling to the Alaska Supreme Court concerning the proposed Alaska Clean Water Initiative, he said in a statement Nov. 7.

The lieutenant governor denied certification of the proposed 07WATR initiative submitted earlier this year by Art Hackney, who represents the Renewable Resource Coalition, on grounds that it appropriated a water resource from one user group for another.

The coalition is a group that is fighting proposed development of the giant Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum deposit in Southwest Alaska, and critics say the initiative is a ploy to block Pebble's development.

Parnell's decision was overturned by the Alaska Superior Court in Dillingham. He has asked the state Supreme Court to "decide whether the proposed initiative, which prohibits certain uses of water by mining companies, is indeed a violation of the Alaska Constitution, which reserves appropriations of public resources for the state Legislature."

Initiative supporters are currently collecting signatures required to place a revised version of the initiative on the ballot in 2008.