9-17-14 Comment Now On EPA Overreach In Alaska. Deadline Friday!

Comment Before Friday On 1) EPA's Overreaching Jurisdiction, 2) Erosion Of America's Rule Of Law, And 3) Attack On Our Constitutional Right Of Due Process.  All Americans In General And Particularly Every Alaskan Are Entitled To Be Outraged!  Reference: Our many editorials on this issue, including this one, and this.  Is This The Country The Founders And So Many Generations Have Loved, Then Defended With "…Our Lives, Our Fortunes And Our Sacred Honor?"  -dh

From Deantha Crockett (NGP Photo), Executive Director of the Alaska Miners Association, comes this action request which we heartily endorse:

Friday, September 19 is the deadline to comment on the EPA's Proposed Determination Pursuant to Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act on the Pebble Deposit Area.  The agency’s intention is to preemptively place restrictions on development of a mine at Pebble, however, they are effectively a veto of a mine at Pebble. 

Points to consider in your testimony and comments:

• A preemptive decision, prior to permit or project application and completion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, is unacceptable, whether it be approval or denial of any project in any industry.
• The proposed determination ignores existing processes, undermining existing agency responsibilities on both the state and federal level.  Further, the EPA does not have the authority under the Clean Water Act to preemptively block  development
• Any potential 404(c) actions against the Pebble Project are premature.  The project has not yet been finalized and no permit applications – including detailed plans and environmental mitigation strategies – have been submitted to government agencies, nor has the NEPA process been initiated.  As a result, the current assessment and any preemptive action would deprive government agencies and stakeholders of the specific information, science, and rigorous reviews that would come out of the multi-­‐year NEPA process.
• Every project, no matter the size or location, should have an opportunity to be reviewed under existing legal processes.  In the case of mining, there are more than 60 major permits and hundreds more from local, state, and federal agencies that must be successfully obtained.  If the process determines a project as designed cannot protect the environment and other resources, it will not advance.  The process will not permit one industry or resource to advance at the expense of another.
• Any 404(c) action outside the existing permitting process would be an extreme case of federal overreach and an assault on Alaska sovereignty.  The Pebble mineral deposit is not located on federal land, nor inside a refuge or park.  It is located on state land designated for mineral exploration.  The State of Alaska depends on the responsible development of natural resources on its lands to diversify and support its economy.
• Until an application is filed describing the project in detail and an Environmental Impact Statement is completed, the EPA is prematurely determining adverse impacts based on hypothetical assessments and inapplicable modeling.
• The proposed determination and potential actions would undermine existing regulatory processes and set a dangerous precedent for future projects.  If the EPA preemptively stops projects before they enter the permitting process, any large project could be at risk.  Preemptive action by the EPA could become a new tool opponents use to stop projects, or at a minimum, introduce significant uncertainty and delay, chilling Alaska's business climate.