The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
NJ Democrat collects signatures in support of SEACC, while Republicans, led by Rep. Don Young, urge colleagues not to sign
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-New Jersey, has circulated a letter to his fellow representatives encouraging them to sign an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council.
U.S. Reps. Don Young, R-Alaska, Bill Sali, R - Ind., and Mike Simpson, R - Idaho, responded to the appeal by Pallone with a letter of their own, urging their colleagues on Capital Hill "not to sign an erroneous amicus brief to kill good-paying American jobs."
The Supreme Court case is the result of SEACC and other environmental groups' challenge of Section 404 Permits issued by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for the disposal of tailings at Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp.'s Kensington mine project, 45 miles northwest of Juneau. Though the wet tailings disposal plan had survived federal and state regulatory scrutiny, the anti-development activists filed suit to block the plan on the grounds that it violated provisions of the federal Clean Water Act.
The environmentalist took their case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after an August 2006 ruling in which the U.S. District Court of Alaska in Anchorage upheld the mine permits. In May 2007 the appeals court negated permits issued by the Corps and the U.S. Forest Service.
In June the Supreme Court, which only hears about 7 percent of the cases that come before it on appeal, agreed to review what could become a precedent-setting case.
Amicus curiae briefs on behalf of SEACC and the other environmental groups are due by mid-November.
Pallone asks for signatures
In his letter to fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Pallone wrote, "Early next year the Supreme Court will hear the SEACC, Sierra Club, and Lynn Canal Conservation v. Coeur Alaska, Inc., Goldbelt, Inc and the State of Alaska case. Please join me in signing a congressional amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court on behalf of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. Our brief is due to be filed with the court in mid-November."
The New Jersey Democrat's letter contends that the Kensington Mine permit "would set dangerous legal precedent with damaging consequences nationwide. If the Supreme Court upholds the mine's permit, it would be the first time since the passage of the Clean Water Act that the Corps has issued a section 404 permit for discharges of process wastewater directly into a lake, river, or stream, burying the receiving water."
This, according to Pallone, would risk more than 30 years of Clean Water Act protections.
Alaska, Idaho reps fire back
In response to Pallone's letter, Alaska and Idaho representatives sent out a letter, saying, "The brief is an attempt to further the efforts of a handful of radical environmentalists to stop this particular mine and set a precedent to halt many other mines throughout the United States."
They pointed out that both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the tailings discharge into the impoundment was properly permitted under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act as fill material, and that Congress has authorized the Corps of Engineers to permit the placement of mine tailings in jurisdictional waters for more than 100 years.
The congressmen also noted that the water in question is "added to those benign mine tailings to make it slurry that can be transported by a pipeline to impoundment. Prior to any water discharge downstream from the impoundment, the company also properly obtained a 402 permit from the EPA."
"The Ninth Circuit decision would hurt the mining industry nationwide, which could result in even more unemployment. The impact would surely result in a much broader adverse impact on communities and citizens who rely on environmentally sound mining practices for their economies," the Republicans argued.
Reps. Young, Sali and Simpson said the fate of the mining industry hangs in the balance.
No permit, no jobs
The representatives also discussed the importance of Kensington to the economics of the Juneau area, especially Alaska Natives.
"A key partner in the mine's development is Goldbelt, the local Native group which represents the Tlingit people in the Juneau area. Alaska's Tlingits currently have a 62 percent unemployment rate among adult males. The Kensington Project would provide them with some of the best-paying jobs available in the region," the congressmen wrote.
The letter includes an excerpt from an article that appeared earlier this year in a North of 60 Mining News: Randy Wanamaker, a Tlingit Indian and registered geologist, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in January "... hardrock mining is vital to communities like Juneau because it brings social and economic stability in the form of high-paying jobs and substantial tax revenue that provides opportunities for economic parity for members of minority groups."
Once in operation more than 200 workers are expected to be employed at the Kensington gold mine. Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp.'s Alaska subsidiary, Coeur Alaska, has agreed to give hiring preference to shareholders from three Southeast Alaska Native corporations - Goldbelt Inc., Klukwan Inc., and Kake Tribal Corp.
Coeur cuts core employees
Young, Sali and Simpson told members of the House that because of the lawsuit-induced delays in the Kensington Project, Coeur is in the process of cutting existing jobs in Southeast Alaska.
Coeur laid off 33 of the 82 workers at Kensington Project in early October. The work-force reduction comes after the company decided it could no longer move forward with a paste tailings plan at Comet Beach, and would wait for a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on its original permit for tailings disposal in Lower Slate Lake.
Meg Day, Coeur Alaska's human resources manager, said the company is working with mining operations in Alaska and the Lower 48 to help the displaced workers find jobs. She said several of the workers have received job offers and interviews from the Greens Creek silver mine, which is about 30 miles southwest of Juneau.
Day said Coeur's priority is to find positions in Alaska's mining industry for as many displaced employees as possible.
The operator of Kensington expects a Supreme Court ruling in early 2009. If the court upholds the permits, Coeur hopes to complete its tailings facilities and begin gold production by the end of next year.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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