Legislature(2011 - 2012)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/28/2012 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB152 | |
| SB147 | |
| SB152 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 152 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| = | SB 147 | ||
| = | SB 148 | ||
SB 152-LEG. APPROVAL OF BRISTOL BAY SULFIDE MINE
3:35:18 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced the consideration of SB 152.
3:35:47 PM
SENATOR HOLLIS FRENCH, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of SB
152, said the bill was designed to help further engage the
legislature in development issues in the Bristol Bay Fisheries
Reserve (BBFR). He said BBFR was created in 1972 to add a
heightened level of fisheries protection. He said a bill was
enacted which required the legislature to pass a BBFR impact
resolution prior to oil and gas development. He said the bill
was sponsored by Senator Jay Hammond and noted that an early
provision included a proposal similar to SB 152. He said in a
sense, SB 152 would finish the work that was initiated in 1972.
CHAIR OLSON recognized Representative Pete Peterson and
Representative Bryce Edgmon were present.
3:37:19 PM
SENATOR FRENCH said AS 38.05.140(f), provides that BBFR surface
entry permits and exploration licenses to develop oil and gas
leases may not be issued on state owned or controlled land until
the legislature, by appropriate resolution, specifically finds
that entry would not constitute danger to the fishery. He said
SB 152 would treat large scale, metallic sulfide mining in the
exact same way as oil and gas. He said SB 152 would not prohibit
mining, it simply adds heightened protection.
3:37:34 PM
SENATOR ELLIS joined the meeting.
3:37:43 PM
CHAIR OLSON called an at ease at 3:37 p.m. and set SB 152 until
later in the meeting.
SB 152-LEG. APPROVAL OF BRISTOL BAY SULFIDE MINE
CHAIR OLSON announced the continued consideration of SB 152. He
asked Senator French to continue his presentation.
3:40:39 PM
SENATOR FRENCH said the fishery in Bristol Bay was one of the
top producing wild salmon systems in the world and the most
lucrative salmon fishery in Alaska. He said the salmon
populations were highly vulnerable to even small changes to
habitat water quality.
He said Alaska had never denied a permit to a large-scale mine.
He noted that the facts presented warranted legislative
oversight and legislative involvement in the process. He said
that due to the geochemistry and location of Bristol Bay,
sulfide deposits in the headwaters run a high risk of polluting
the bay. He said the magnitude of the potential risks to the
BBFR region and the potential statewide impact, legislatures
representing communities from across the state should weigh in.
He said the legislature may very well decide to approve the mine
after a thorough hearing, but the process should be exacting.
SENATOR OLSON asked where else in Alaska were there metallic
sulfide deposits that would challenge the magnitude of the
Pebble Mine (PM).
SENATOR FRENCH answered that he did not know.
CHAIR OLSON commented on the potential "slippery slope" from SB
152 and asked about the potential legislative impact on other
mines in Alaska.
SENATOR FRENCH answered that a precedent was in place for oil
and gas operations in BBFR and that was exactly where the
slippery slope stopped. He said a legislator could go to any
constituent and say SB 152 put mining on the same footing as oil
and gas in BBFR where so many lives and jobs depended on the
annual salmon return.
CHAIR OLSON asked how politics would be kept out of responsible
resource development.
3:43:46 PM
SENATOR FRENCH answered that politics were going to be infused
in the BBFR issue throughout its life. He said the vital
question was how the fish would be protected and how the public
process would be protected.
CHAIR OLSON asked if an opportunity would be missed if BBFR
mining would not be allowed to continue and the region's wild
salmon fishing was phased out due to the impact from farmed
fish.
SENATOR FRENCH answered that SB 152 would help cement the future
of wild Alaska fish as being much brighter and stronger. He
noted that fishermen in Sitka were against PM due to the
potential impact on the state's fishing industry from BBFR
tainted fish.
CHAIR OLSON responded that he agreed.
3:45:58 PM
RICK HALFORD, consultant, Trout Unlimited-Alaska, Chugiak, said
he did not recall being opposed to mines in the past and PM was
unique due to its location, type and size.
He said an existing law strictly regulated BBFR's oil and gas
development. He said adding sulfide mines of more than one
square mile to the law would not impact any other BBFR
development projects.
He said three companies were involved with PM - Northern Dynasty
Minerals, Rio Tinto and Anglo American. He noted that the PM
project was initiated by Cominco Alaska Exploration and the
company sold its interest below its investment costs. He said
Northern Dynasty Minerals was continuously for sale and the
market's assessment of PM's probability had affected its stock
prices from a high of $20 per share to the current low of $7 per
share. He noted that Tom Albanese, Rio Tinto's chairman, does
not believe PM would ever permit as an open pit mine.
3:48:48 PM
He said many fisheries in North America were threatened. He said
the real stronghold of a completely viable and totally diverse
fishery was Bristol Bay. He said BBFR was like no other place
left on earth and was truly a state resource of national
importance.
He said BBFR was interesting due to its altitude and wet
conditions. He said the BBFR spawning grounds was a thousand
foot plateau in a rolling hill area with porous soil material
where ground and surface water mixed. He said BBFR impact would
be from the mine and its 100-mile access corridor that crossed
all of the streams of the northeast end of Iliamna Lake, the
greatest red salmon lake on earth.
3:51:30 PM
MR. HALFORD said an all-weather road would have to be created in
a mountainous region to haul millions of gallons of fuel. He
noted that a fuel pipeline would have to be installed due to the
size of the project. He said a 1400 to 1600 gallon spill
occurred during the initial fuel haul.
He said PM's 10.8 billion ton deposit was very low grade with
high sulfur content and a copper equivalent value of 0.0033
percent. He noted that the Greens Creek Mine (GCM) was a sulfide
mine located 25 miles south of Juneau. He said PM would be 300
times the size of GCM. He said GCM was an underground mining
operation that was very well controlled and operated. He said
the largest open pit mine in North America, Utah's Bingham
Canyon Mine (BCM), would be one-third the size of PM. He said
BCM was located in a desert and has polluted 72 square miles of
the aquifer located underneath.
3:53:43 PM
MR. HALFORD said BBFR had been impacted by the current drilling
program's drilling-muds, fluids and tailings. He said current
remediation efforts were lacking and legislative oversight would
be a big step in the right direction. He said the bill would
bring the legislature to the table in the biggest decision for
Western Alaska.
3:58:15 PM
SENATOR MENARD asked how the legislature would conduct a BBFR
review.
MR. HALFORD answered that the legislature should get the best
available scientific data and listen to the local people.
SENATOR MENARD asked if the recent BBFR vote was close.
MR. HALFORD answered that the recent initiative was a close vote
and occurred in a small portion of the BBFR region. He said 52
to 55 percent favored PM. He noted that Dillingham, the largest
community in the area, was not included. He noted that polling
in the larger communities indicated that 80 percent of the
voters opposed PM.
SENATOR MENARD asked which boroughs voted.
4:00:13 PM
MR. HALFORD answered that the Lake and Peninsula Borough voted.
He said boroughs that would be affected downstream did not vote.
He said the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) conducted a
regional poll that indicated that 70 to 80 percent opposed PM.
CHAIR OLSON asked why Manokotak was considered in BBFR.
MR. HALFORD answered that Manokotak was considered to be in the
BBFR drainage area.
SENATOR MENARD asked how it could be assured that politics would
not come into play.
MR. HALFORD answered that a former politician said that a person
not interested in politics was like a drowning man not
interested in water. He said politics was the way we do things.
SENATOR MENARD responded that lobbyists also had an impact on
politics.
CHAIR OLSON asked for clarification on the results from the
initiative vote.
MR. HALFORD answered that the vote was a lot closer than the
advocates of the ballot initiative had expected. He said the
turnout was in the two communities where PM was basing their
operations, Iliamna and Newhalen. He estimated that less than
half of the BBFR drainage population voted in the initiative.
CHAIR OLSON asked why Southwestern Alaska's Donovan Creek Mine
(DCM) was not receiving as much adversity.
4:03:46 PM
MR. HALFORD answered that DCM was owned by the local native
corporation. He said the fishery impacted by DCM was much
smaller than PM.
CHAIR OLSON commented that many families depend on the Kuskokwim
River King Salmon run and would be negatively impacted by DCM.
He asked why the same PM opposition effort was not being applied
to DCM.
MR. HALFORD answered that DCM was more controversial than
expected. He said he was surprised that Bethel voted against
DCM. He noted that DCM would provide jobs and local ownerships
opportunities in Bethel. He said DCM had the same material
problems as PM, but the size of the mine was much smaller.
CHAIR OLSON asked if gold mining would have occurred in Nome 100
years ago if SB 152 legislation existed.
MR. HALFORD answered that he believed he never ran for political
office in opposition to mining. He said mining had economic
importance in Alaska and noted there had been environmental
issues. He said Bristol Bay was a unique case where legislation
would be reasonable and he did not oppose other mines in Alaska.
He said PM's size, high sulfur content and acid drainage would
be deadly to BBFR's water.
4:07:31 PM
CHAIR OLSON asked if remediation technology existed to control
PM.
MR. HALFORD answered no. He said remediation had never been
successful in a wet climate. He said remediation would have to
occur in perpetuity with acid issues being just as dangerous
1000 years from now.
CHAIR OLSON asked if muriatic acid would be produced.
MR. HALFORD answered that sulfuric acid would be produced.
CHAIR OLSON asked how we make sure legislation to stop mining
would not impact responsible resource development. He noted that
the oil industry was extracting a nonrenewable resource in the
North Slope's extreme conditions.
4:09:29 PM
MR. HALFORD said onshore oil and gas drilling had far less
environmental impact than mining. He said rising mineral values
made mining low-grade ore feasible. He said low-grade ore mining
generated high levels of waste. He noted that the state received
ten times more money from the oil industry's gross taxation
versus the mining industry's net taxation system.
4:11:03 PM
CHAIR OLSON asked if he would oppose development if oil was
discovered in Bristol Bay.
MR. HALFORD answered that he supported onshore drilling and
opposed offshore drilling.
SENATOR MENARD referenced a National Geographic article
regarding Alaska's choice between gold and salmon. She asked if
there was any way Alaska could have both gold and salmon.
MR. HALFORD answered that was the argument made in every one of
those considerations was for one or the other. He said that for
Bristol Bay it was a choice between salmon and gold due to the
issue with perpetual remediation.
4:14:41 PM
SENATOR MENARD asked if Mr. Halford owned several thousand acres
in BBFR.
MR. HALFORD answered that he did not own land in BBFR. He said
he owned 150 acres north of Dillingham, approximately 120 miles
from BBFR.
SENATOR MENARD asked if bringing on a scientifically educated
consultant had ever been considered.
MR. HALFORD answered that he did not have a science education
background. He said right decisions would be made if we were to
listen to local people, original people of the area and science.
He said PM would not occur if people understand what was at
stake for BBFR. He said sulfide mines were very dangerous.
SENATOR MENARD commented that she was a strong supporter of
mines and understood the conflict with commercial fishing in
Bristol Bay.
4:17:33 PM
MR. HALFORD responded that he liked the people in the mining
industry and did not begrudge them of their investments. He said
danger from a sulfide mine was more than the rest of the system
in the state could bear. He said BBFR supported a $400 million
to $500 million fishing industry and the soul of the region's
people would be lost if salmon were gone.
4:18:43 PM
SENATOR MENARD asked about the impact from SB 152.
MR. HALFORD answered that the legislation was a small step to
have the legislators involved in the process.
CHAIR OLSON commented that SB 152 was not a small step and
roadblocks could be inserted by the legislature that would be
fairly significant. He noted that legislators were holding up
the Coastal Resource Management Program that was supported by 80
percent of Alaskans. He said he was cautious on trying to get
the legislature more involved.
4:19:46 PM
DANIEL CHEYETTE, Associate General Counsel, Bristol Bay Native
Corporation (BBNC), said BBNC supported responsible resource
development via projects that met high standards of fiscal,
social and environmental sustainability. He said projects must
provide long-term economic returns without risking or damaging
subsistence resources, native culture or the commercial salmon
fishery. He said Bristol Bay commercial fishing provided more
than 11,500 jobs and $164 million in wages to the region. He
said BBNC would not risk the crucial fishing resource for the
purpose of developing other resources and opposed the proposed
PM project.
4:22:44 PM
MR. CHEYETTE said BBNC shareholders responded to a survey with
81 percent opposing PM. He said BBNC had provided written
testimony with recommendations for SB 152 to include findings
that speak to the unique nature of Bristol Bay's fisheries.
CHAIR OLSON asked what the sentiment of the non-native
population was for PM.
MR. CHEYETTE answered that BBNC did a statewide survey and found
less than 32 percent had a positive opinion of PM. He noted that
other industries, including oil and gas, had a favorability
rating over 70 percent.
4:25:45 PM
LISA REIMERS, CEO, Iliamna Development Corporation, said PM
would bring needed jobs and an economy to the area with a high
cost of living. She noted that the majority of jobs provided by
BBFR were out of state. She said Iliamna residents would like to
make their own decisions regarding PM.
CHAIR OLSON noted the importance of jobs to survive as a western
culture and asked what would happen if there was a problem and
the mine had to shut down.
MS. REIMERS answered that Iliamna could not solely survive on
commercial fishing and BBNC was not creating local job
opportunities. She said Iliamna residents were adaptable and
could move on if the PM was closed.
4:29:45 PM
TREFON ANGASAN, Chairman of the Board, Alaska Peninsula
Corporation (APC), said APC was a merger of five village
corporations with two located in the Iliamna Lake area. He said
SB 152 would insert political decision-making and usurp the
permitting authority of state agencies. He said the bill was
poor public policy and would restrict mining in the region. He
said the bill would violate APC's property interest under the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), the Alaska State
Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.
4:35:38 PM
MR. ANGASAN said SB 152 was a giveaway to the sports lodges that
threatened APC's ability to develop its lands and resources. He
said BBNC's support for SB 152 was misplaced and violated its
responsibilities under ANCSA. He said SB 152 would expose the
state to enormous liabilities for inverse condemnation.
4:37:13 PM
He said SB 152 would substantially reduce the value of
investments made by APC and mining exploration companies. He
said mining companies were taking enormous risks and would be
held hostage by the political whims of the legislature. He said
APC had confidence in the process and it should not be
threatened by ex post facto actions for a politically motivated
legislative body.
4:40:37 PM
RICHARD KING, Administrator, Ekwok Village Council, Ekwok, said
the Senate has a trust responsibility to the people of Bristol
Bay. He said the people of Bristol Bay have spoken with over 80
percent in opposition to large-scale mining. He said he lived in
northern Minnesota and saw mining's negative impact on fishing.
4:43:50 PM
RACHAEL PETRO, President and CEO, Alaska State Chamber of
Commerce (ASCC), said ASCC supports an efficient and predictable
permitting process. She said ASCC encourages the legislature to
uphold current regulatory and permitting laws to facilitate
natural resource exploration. She said SB 152 would insert
political decision making into established regulatory structures
by usurping the permitting authority of state agencies and
restrict mining throughout Bristol Bay regardless of land
status. She said the bill was poor public policy and would
establish a dangerous precedent for all future resource
development in Alaska.
4:46:40 PM
DENNIS ANDREW SR., President, New Stuyahok Village Council, said
the village would be the first community affected downstream by
the proposed PM. He said New Stuyahok relied on subsistence
fishing and considered Bristol Bay their "dinner table" for
thousands of years. He said PB would be too high of a risk for a
large mine in the Bristol Bay headwaters.
4:48:30 PM
THOMAS TILDEN, Tribal Chief, Curyung Tribal Council, said an
extraordinary mine requires extraordinary legislation for the
future of the state. He said when PB was proposed he was for the
mine and the economic opportunity it brought to BBFR. He said
his mind changed in opposition to PM after reviewing data on
what might happen. He said he attended meetings where the mining
companies would not guarantee a percentage of local employment.
He said PM would be located in BBFR's unique upland-wetlands
where possible contamination would have wide spread impact.
4:51:37 PM
GARY CLINE, Village Representative, Nunamta Aulukestai, said the
respective tribal governments support legislation for added
protection within BBFR. He said the future was on a collision
course between the subsistence foods and the many mining claims
that have potential to impact the BBFR watershed. He said
trading a prolific salmon habitat for a large mine was not
acceptable. He said current oversight from government agencies
was not diligent in their inspections regarding water use
permits during drilling exploration. He said water was taken
from streams where salmon were residing and spawning.
4:54:36 PM
HERMAN NELSON SR., President, New Koliganek Village Council,
said the village was located 50 miles west of the proposed PM.
He said legislative approval that affects BBFR water and land
was necessary.
4:57:02 PM
KIMBERLY WILLIAMS, Executive Director, Nunamta Aulukestai, said
she supported the passage of SB 152 for future generations. She
said the Department of Natural Resources had to improve their
oversight and noted that PM's data shows fish populations were
declining in streams impacted by exploratory drilling.
4:58:52 PM
ABE WILLIAMS, President, Nuna Resources, said SB 152 sets a bad
precedent by turning the current regulatory structure into a
political folly. He said Nuna Resources was established to
advocate for a sustainable economy in BBFR including the support
for responsible resource development and advocating for due
process. He said due process was the key for regional resource
diversification to address a dwindling population.
5:01:22 PM
CHAIR OLSON said SB 152 would be held in committee.
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