Last Week to Submit 404(c) Comments on Pebble Mine

NOW is the time to protect our salmon and our way of life. NOW is the time to protect Bristol Bay. The EPA is in the final stages of it’s 404(c) process that could prevent the Pebble Mine from destroying pristine salmon habitat, and public comment is open until September 6, 2022. 

Fishermen have a few options in considering how they would like to submit their comment: 

1.     Sign on to a comment prepared by Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay – LINK

2.     Submit your own written comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OW-2022-0418, via one of the following methods: 

a.     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go HERE and follow the online instructions for submitting comments via the online Portal. 

b.     Email: Send an email to ow-docket@epa.gov and include the docket number EPA–R10–OW–2022–0418 in the email subject line.

c.      Mail: Send your original comments and three copies to: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460, Attention: Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OW-2022-0418.

On May 26, 2022, EPA Region 10 published a Clean Water Act Section 404(c) Proposed Determination to prohibit and restrict the use of certain waters in the Bristol Bay watershed (South Fork Koktuli River, North Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds) as disposal sites for the discharge of dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble Deposit.

If finalized, EPA’s Section 404(c) determination would help protect the Bristol Bay watershed’s rivers, streams, and wetlands that support the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and a subsistence-based way of life that has sustained Alaska Native communities for millennia.

Read the Proposed Determination HERE.

To learn more about dangers of large scale mining in Bristol Bay, visit HERE and HERE.