00                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 9                                                                     
01 Urging the United States government to continue to work with the government of                                          
02 Canada to investigate the long-term, region-wide downstream effects of proposed and                                     
03 existing industrial development and to develop measures to ensure that state resources                                  
04 are not harmed by upstream development in British Columbia.                                                             
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06       WHEREAS the transboundary rivers of Northwest British Columbia and Southeast                                    
07 Alaska have tremendous unique economic, ecological, subsistence, cultural, and recreational                             
08 value; and                                                                                                              
09       WHEREAS protecting productive, pristine waters and intact habitats throughout                                   
10 those transboundary river systems is necessary to ensure healthy wild salmon populations and                            
11 abundant fisheries; and                                                                                                 
12       WHEREAS large-scale mining in British Columbia is experiencing unprecedented                                    
13 and rapid expansion within the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk watersheds; and                                                  
14       WHEREAS proposed mines in the transboundary area include Tulsequah Chief, New                                   
15 Polaris, and Big Bull in the Taku watershed; Galore Creek, Red Chris, and Schaft Creek in the                           

01 Stikine watershed; and the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell project in the headwaters of the Unuk                               
02 River; and                                                                                                              
03       WHEREAS large-scale mining and energy development could have significant                                        
04 adverse effects on the environment and fisheries within the transboundary region; and                                   
05       WHEREAS the proposed mines would generate billions of tons of acid-generating                                   
06 tailings, which would be held behind huge dams and could pose the threat of acid rock                                   
07 drainage for centuries, if not in perpetuity; and                                                                       
08       WHEREAS the tailings would need monitoring, maintenance, water treatment, and                                   
09 possible remediation for centuries, if not in perpetuity; and                                                           
10 WHEREAS ongoing acid rock drainage at the Tulsequah Chief mine and the tailings                                       
11 dam failure at the Mount Polley mine demonstrate weaknesses in current monitoring and                                   
12 enforcement efforts in British Columbia; and                                                                            
13 WHEREAS the federal-provincial environmental assessment process does not                                              
14 address the long-term, cumulative effects of industrial development in the transboundary                                
15 region; and                                                                                                             
16 WHEREAS commercial fishermen, subsistence and recreational users, elected                                             
17 leaders, local communities, and Alaska Native and First Nation tribes on both sides of the                              
18 Alaska-Canada border have raised concerns about the pace and scope of the proposed                                      
19 industrial development in the headwaters of the transboundary river systems and the potential                           
20 for harm to water quality, fish and wildlife, and the socio-economic sustainability of local                            
21 communities in the region;                                                                                              
22 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the United States                                     
23 government to continue to work with the government of Canada to investigate the long-term,                              
24 region-wide downstream effects of proposed and existing industrial development and to                                   
25 develop measures to ensure that state resources are not harmed by upstream development in                               
26 British Columbia.                                                                                                       
27 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the United States Secretary of State; and                                  
28 the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the                                     
29 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.