00 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4                                                                                     
01 Supporting the responsible development of the Tulsequah Chief Mine through the                                          
02 cooperative effort of Alaska and British Columbia and urging Governor Knowles                                           
03 to withdraw his request for a referral of the Tulsequah Chief Mine to the                                               
04 International Joint Commission under the Boundary Waters Treaty.                                                        
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
06  WHEREAS the governments of Alaska and British Columbia both recognize the                                            
07 importance of environmentally responsible development in meeting the needs of their                                     
08 respective populations; and                                                                                             
09  WHEREAS the Tulsequah Chief Mine project has been subjected to over three years                                      
10 of thorough environmental review including completion of the cooperative environmental                                  
11 assessment review process of British Columbia and Canada; and                                                           
12  WHEREAS representatives of British Columbian and Canadian federal agencies, as                                       
13 well as agencies from Alaska and the United States, have participated with the project                                  
14 committee; and                                                                                                          
01  WHEREAS, subsequent to the issuance of the Environmental Assessment Certificate                                      
02 in March of 1998, these governmental agencies engaged in a series of cooperative meetings,                              
03 discussions, and exchanges of technical details regarding the project; and                                              
04  WHEREAS these constructive and cooperative interactions have allowed officials to                                    
05 review in detail how British Columbia and Canada will respond to the specific technical                                 
06 concerns raised by officials of Alaska and the United States, and, in most cases, the planned                           
07 responses are along the lines proposed by these same officials; and                                                     
08  WHEREAS these exchanges have allowed the parties to explore and understand the                                       
09 differences between their respective approaches to accountable environmental assessment and                             
10 have allowed the Canadian participants to demonstrate that the environmental standards                                  
11 applied to the project are similar in measure to those applied to similar projects in Alaska; and                       
12  WHEREAS the government of British Columbia has provided clear assurances that                                        
13 the mine will not be developed if it fails to meet these standards; and                                                 
14  WHEREAS the government of British Columbia has offered to have officials of                                          
15 Alaska and the United States continue to be involved in the review of the project by                                    
16 participating in specific permitting activities as further detailed permitting takes place; and                         
17  WHEREAS continued cooperative work within British Columbia's established                                             
18 regulatory process will help ensure that the development of the Tulsequah Chief Mine takes                              
19 place in an environmentally responsible manner; and                                                                     
20  WHEREAS the government of British Columbia has made assurances that the                                              
21 development of the Tulsequah Chief Mine will result in no transboundary impacts;                                        
22  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recommends continuing the                                           
23 cooperative effort between the two governments toward the environmentally responsible                                   
24 development of the Tulsequah Chief Mine; and be it                                                                      
25  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges Governor                                       
26 Knowles to withdraw the request for a referral of the Tulsequah Chief Mine project to the                               
27 International Joint Commission under the Boundary Waters Treaty.                                                        
28  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Tony Knowles, Governor                                      
29 of Alaska; to the Honorable Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government                               
30 of Canada; to the Honorable Dan Miller, Minister of Energy and Mines of the Government                                  
31 of British Columbia; to the Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, United States Secretary of State;                          
01 and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and                                  
02 the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in                                       
03 Congress.