The Salmon will be just fine! Hi All - Noted this clip today from Thiessen relative to EPA overreach:
The assessment included a hypothetical large mine project and said it would lead to losses of valuable salmon-rearing habitat.
Thiessen said the agency made no allowance for fisheries habitat restoration and enhancement that mining companies do routinely in Alaska and elsewhere in North America. Many of those are techniques endorsed by Trout Unlimited, one of the environmental groups opposing the mine.
A large mine at Pebble would impact 16 square miles in a 42,000-square-mile region, an area the size of Ohio, he said.
“We have identified many opportunities to enhance habitat and we believe we can not only offset any negative effects but leave fisheries habitat in an improved situation,” Thiessen said.
The mine is located at the headwaters of two streams that flow into two of seven of the major salmon-bearing rivers in the Bristol Bay region.
“Being at the headwaters is actually an advantage because the water flows are low, the streams are small and some actually dry up in winter. The streams are not highly productive habitat, either,” he said.
Given that, there are many opportunities to minimize habitat impacts at the mine. If a mine were developed 21st-century water treatment processes would be involved, Thiessen said. He pointed to other modern Alaska producing mines as examples of successful water treatment management including the Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks, Red Dog Mine north of Kotzebue and the Greens Creek Mine near Juneau.
Despite the world mining industry’s current problems, Thiessen is optimistic about Pebble. He believes major companies will shift back toward North America because of the investment environment is secure from threats like nationalizations.
“There is the rule of law here, and Alaska offers a strict, but stable regulatory environment,” he said.
Despite opposition from some local communities Thiessen believes people can be won over. The mine offers the prospect of being a major employer and taxpayer in a region of Alaska that is very economically depressed, he said. Happy Trading