The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008
The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008
The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
water ballot initiative. Parnell later approved<br />
the ballot language after his<br />
decision was rejected in October by<br />
Superior Court Judge Fred Torrisi, who<br />
disagreed that the ballot initiative was<br />
an appropriation.<br />
But Judge Torrisi, in his decision allowing<br />
the ballot initiative to go forward,<br />
noted that the proposed rule changes<br />
would ban new large metallic mines for<br />
the foreseeable future, if state voters<br />
decide to make the initiatives law.<br />
In that same court case, Richard<br />
Mylius, DNR’s director of mining, land<br />
and water, said in his deposition that<br />
mining in <strong>Alaska</strong> would be impossible<br />
under the initiative and that it would<br />
prohibit existing mines from renewing<br />
or obtaining new permits.<br />
“Clean Water Initiative I clearly sets<br />
a much stricter standard than what’s<br />
in place. Essentially new large mines<br />
would not be able to operate, as well as<br />
existing mines with renewals,” Mylius<br />
said, in an interview in mid-May. “Clean<br />
Water III is not so clear about the prohibitions<br />
… it’s pretty vague about the<br />
standard that they’re setting.”<br />
Mining industry groups have joined<br />
forces with <strong>Alaska</strong> Native corporations<br />
and other support industry organizations<br />
to provide information about the<br />
state’s mining industry and the impact<br />
of the proposed ballot initiatives.<br />
NANA, the for-profit Native regional<br />
corporation in northwest <strong>Alaska</strong> and a<br />
partner in the Red Dog zinc and lead<br />
mine, has released a 16-page document<br />
explaining the ballot issue, its<br />
potential impacts to the mining industry<br />
and the economic impacts of the<br />
state’s largest mine contributor – Red<br />
Dog – to the region and to <strong>Alaska</strong>.<br />
“Circulated under the guise of<br />
“clean water” petitions, these initiatives<br />
would devastate the economy of<br />
large parts of <strong>Alaska</strong> by shutting down<br />
existing and future mining operations<br />
– and potentially impacting other economic<br />
sectors, such as oil and gas,”<br />
NANA said, in its report. <strong>The</strong> initiatives<br />
“…essentially rewrite <strong>Alaska</strong>’s environmental<br />
laws without public hearing<br />
or legislative oversight and establishes<br />
a standard so high no one can meet it<br />
– not even municipalities with the most<br />
advanced treatment systems.”<br />
Patricia Liles is a freelance writer<br />
living in Fairbanks.