Rep. Peltola Introduces The Bristol Bay Protection Act
/On May 1st, Rep. Peltola (D-AK) introduced The Bristol Bay Protection Act — legislation that would codify the EPA’s 404(c) action vetoing the proposed Pebble Mine so that the safeguards could not be undone, except through a subsequent act of Congress. With more than a dozen large-scale mining threats in the region, this federal legislation is an important layer of protection for Bristol Bay.
People from all across Alaska and the nation—including the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, village and Native corporations, dozens of NGOs and nonprofits, sportsmen, businesses, chefs, and of course, commercial fishermen—are united in support behind EPA’s Clean Water Act protections.
We look forward to working with Congresswoman Peltola and other Bristol Bay champions in Congress to ensure its future is vibrant and free of the Pebble Mine.
Read the full press release from Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay & Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association: Commericial Fishermen welcome Bristol Bay Protection Act
Read Rep. Peltola’s Full Release below:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2024
Contact: Kaitlin Hooker
Peltola Bill Would Nix Pebble Mine
Bristol Bay Protection Act codifies 2023 EPA decision
WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Mary Peltola (AK-AL) introduced the Bristol Bay Protection Act, new legislation that would codify a 2023 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to veto the Pebble Mine – a proposed copper-gold-molybdenum mining project in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska – under Clean Water Act section 404(c) ,into federal law.
“I came to DC to stand up for fish – to make fishing and the livelihoods of our fishing communities the national issue it deserves to be,” said Rep. Peltola. “Whole communities rely on Bristol Bay’s watershed for subsistence and as a deeply interwoven part of their social and cultural practices. In introducing this bill, we’re moving to protect our fisheries and streams, water supply, and the deep value that these waters have had to Alaska Natives who have relied on them for thousands of years.”
Full bill text is available HERE.
