EPA Says 'Pebble Mine' Will Threaten Alaska Sockeye Salmon Population

Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed is known as one of the few sights for immaculate aquatic habitats and plentiful salmon populations. Now the safety of the watershed is being threatened by a proposal that seeks to develop an open pit gold and copper mine in the nearby waters.

The Environmental Protection Agency released the final Watershed Assessment last week in hopes of swaying opinion toward preserving the safety of Bristol Bay. Northern Dynasty Minerals, a Canada-based company, seeks to develop the "Pebble Mine" which they believe will increase the global metal supply as well as create more jobs. Many believe that the damaging effects it will have upon the land, water, fish and wildlife are not worth its construction.

In the EPA's Watershed Assessment, they proposed two questions in hopes of spurring a constructive debate: What is the condition of the watershed and its fisheries resources right now?; and what will happen to them if a large-scale mine like the Pebble Mine is developed? 

The assessment also makes four key points in support of the Bristol Bay Watershed: The watershed's wild salmon fishery produces nearly half of the world's sockeye salmon; the development of the mine will put a significant risk on the purity and safety of wetlands, the cleanliness of the waters and the salmon fishery, in addition to creating toxic waste; such damage would be permanent; and the toxic waste production and removal must be monitored forever.

Christina Swanson is the Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an organization with a significant voice in regards to this matter. To conclude her argument in her Op-Ed Live Science article, she stated, "As a citizen with a stake in the process, I think the enduring value of the land, water, and the fishery - and the people, jobs and culture it sustains - are greater than what can be created by another mine ... I ask the EPA - which can use its authority under the Clean Water Act to prevent destruction of water, fisheries and recreational resources - to act to preserve this national treasure."

To read more about the Bristol Bay watershed, visit this Live Science article.