A hint oToward positive action Alaska weighs asking feds for wetlands permit powers
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy yesterday said he’s preparing to ask state legislators to support a bid to take over wetlands permitting under the Clean Water Act.
It’s a move that would affect future permits for the contentious Pebble mine, as well as other mines in the state, although the Republican governor acknowledged it would be a “tall task” to get primary control over Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which permits dredging and filling of wetlands and waterways. Only three states currently have such authority.
“But we’re going to work on it, and we believe we’re going to be successful,” he told an audience at the American Exploration and Mining Association’s annual conference at the Nugget Casino Resort, just outside Reno, Nev. The governor’s pledge was met with rapturous applause.
The request will also ask for funding to seek primacy under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, a statute governing hazardous waste.
“We’re going to work on that as well," he said.