00 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 15 01 Directing the Legislative Council to contract for an assessment of environmental and 02 socioeconomic consequences of large-scale mineral extraction in the Bristol Bay area 03 watershed. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS, when Alaska achieved statehood in 1959, it was clear that the state's 06 small population needed to use renewable and nonrenewable resource development for 07 economic support; and 08 WHEREAS revenue derived from responsible mineral, timber, fish, and oil extraction 09 has provided employment and dramatically improved the quality of life in Alaska; and 10 WHEREAS the Constitution of the State of Alaska in art. VIII, secs. 2 and 4, requires 11 the legislature to provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural 12 resources belonging to the state for the maximum benefit of its people; and requires that fish, 13 forests, wildlife, grasslands, and all other replenishable resources belonging to the state be 14 utilized, developed, and maintained on the sustained yield principle; and 15 WHEREAS the Pebble copper deposit is part of a much larger series of metal-rich, 01 coalescing hydrothermal sulfide systems estimated to contain 94,000,000 ounces of gold, 02 72,000,000,000 pounds of copper, and 48,000,000,000 pounds of molybdenum, the 03 development of which may require an open pit mine that is over two miles long, 1.75 miles 04 wide, and 1,600 feet deep, and a 100-mile pipeline and access road to Iniskin Bay; and 05 WHEREAS the river corridors draining the area encompassing the Pebble copper 06 deposit are central to commercial, subsistence, and recreational fish and wildlife resource 07 production and have been closed to mining entry for more than 20 years; the sparsely 08 populated Iliamna region is a spawning ground for the massive Bristol Bay salmon runs, is 09 one of the largest sockeye salmon returns in the world, and is known for its world-class trout 10 fishing; and 11 WHEREAS the area encompassing the Pebble copper deposit is located in an area of 12 significant seismic activity, adjacent to the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve near Lake 13 Iliamna, and open pit mining requires careful advance planning and consideration of potential 14 negative environmental consequences, including effects on fish habitat, acid mine drainage, 15 and other water quality issues resulting from mine tailings and exposed rock, that may require 16 ongoing remediation efforts for an indefinite period of time; and 17 WHEREAS the current debate over the development of the Pebble copper deposit in 18 the headwaters of Bristol Bay pits advocates for two of Alaska's greatest historic economic 19 mainstays in opposition, with both sides claiming that science will prove their position is 20 correct; and 21 WHEREAS the National Academy of Sciences is the premier source of objective 22 review of complex scientific questions; and 23 WHEREAS the legislature must have the best possible information on which to base 24 its policy decisions regarding the potential for development of the Pebble copper deposit 25 together with the potential environmental consequences of that development; 26 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests an independent review 27 by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to provide an 28 interdisciplinary assessment of the known and probable cumulative environmental and 29 socioeconomic consequences of large-scale mineral extraction in the Bristol Bay area 30 watershed, including hydrological systems and aquifers, biological resources, and 31 communities, and an assessment of critical gaps in existing knowledge necessary to 01 adequately understand, predict, and manage the environmental and socioeconomic 02 consequences of mineral extraction in the Bristol Bay area watershed, and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that, under AS 24.20.060(4)(E), the legislature directs the 04 Alaska Legislative Council to contract for that independent review by the National Research 05 Council of the National Academy of Sciences and for a written report setting out the results of 06 that review.