Group protests Chuitna coal mine idea

THe Chuitna Citizens NO-COALition filed an appeal Mar. 19 in Alaska Superior Court challenging a decision by Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin to reject its petition to designate all land within the Chuitna River watershed as unsuitable for coal mining.

Irwin rejected the petition last summer on the grounds that the evidence submitted to support the petition's claims did not make a compelling argument and the petition itself was overly broad, arbitrary and did not give the petitioner credibility in its assertions.

"For the State to determine that there will be no coal mining at all in the Chuitna River watershed is a very big deal," said DNR mining coordinator Ed Fogels. "It would be a long, drawn out process that would take more than a year under state and federal laws. If someone came forward, they would have to offer very good reasons to initiate the process, especially since coal mining regulations are so strict, and there have been successful coal mining reclamation projects around the nation."

Chuitna Citizens NO-COALition is opposed to a coal mine that PacRim Coal LP is considering developing. The venture group is seeking regulatory permits to develop a mine from the rich sub-bituminous coal deposits west of Anchorage. PacRim estimates it could recover 300 million metric tons of sub-bituminous coal, roughly equal to the energy of a billion barrels of oil, over 25 years.

Trustees for Alaska, an environmental law firm that represents the coalition, filed the petition with DNR in June 2007, asserting that the watershed area is primarily wetlands that cannot be reclaimed, and therefore, under state law should be designated as unsuitable for mining.

In a 61-page petition, the coalition argued that mining the area for coal could result in a reduction of long-range productivity of water supply, food or fiber products; would affect areas of unstable geology and other natural hazards in which the operations could endanger life and property; and are not exempt from a designation of being unsuitable.

Irwin rejected the petition on numerous grounds, including the fact that a large part of the Chuitna watershed is already subject to coal leases - PacRim owns 20,570, acres and a joint venture between Barrick Gold Corp. and Cook Inlet Region Inc. owns 17,690 acres.

He also noted that the Environmental Protection Agency in the 1990s found that the "acidic, muskeg-like wetlands that are widely dispersed throughout" the Chuitna watershed "are not highly productive," and "adverse impacts to the area would not be significant on a regional scale."

Upset that Irwin rejected the petition last summer and reaffirmed that decision on reconsideration in February, the citizens group filed suit, appealing the decisions in Anchorage Superior Court on March 17.