Clarks Point, AK – On the heels of an announcement from the EPA that the agency will begin a process to withdraw long-sought after Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay and in an act of desperation, fishermen filled the skies of Bristol Bay with smoke and flares: the worldwide signal of distress.   Fishermen want Alaska’s Senator Lisa Murkowski and other elected officials to weigh in on their behalf before the July 1 deadline for public comments on the deeply flawed Pebble Mine Draft Environmental Impact Statement. 

 

EPA’s announcement came as a slap in the face to the region where the Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay were long-sought by tribes, residents, fishermen and others. EPA’s announcement, a lifeline for the Pebble project, was in fact requested by Governor Michael Dunleavy in a March 1, 2019 letter to the Trump administration in which he asked that EPA “officially announce that a preemptive [404c action] is not going to be used anywhere in the State.”

 

“We hope the Senator understands and takes seriously this message of distress from Bristol Bay fisherman,” says Dillingham gillnet captain Katherine Carscallen. “It’s clear that the Army Corps and this administration are determined to permit the Pebble Mine, science and due process be damned. The Pebble DEIS is fatally flawed and the process has been corrupted by the millions of dollars spent by Pebble on DC lobbyists. It needs to be halted and started over. This is not another well intentioned rally, this is a distress call from those of us who have the most to lose if Pebble were built. It is our sincere hope the Senator hears and sees us and chooses to be the leader we need, when we need her the most.” 

 

Among the flaws and gaps in the DEIS are the lack of a reclamation and closure plan, the lack of a water monitoring plan, no wildlife management plan and the complete absence of a catastrophic tailings dams failure analysis. It also does not include an economic or pre-feasibility plan to determine if the proposed 20-year mine will be profitable, and does not look at the long-term consequences if the headwaters of Bristol Bay’s world class fishery is turned into a mining district as Pebble’s initial mine inevitably grows and others are built in the same area.

 

Curyung Tribal Council Administrator, Courtenay Carty sees Senator Murkowski as a potential voice of reason as the Senator has touted being in favor of a robust and thorough permitting process in the past. She explained, “The voices of Bristol Bay tribes, residents and fishermen are being drowned out in this corrupt and rushed process. Senator Murkowski has the power to stop Pebble from railroading through permitting without science or principles, yet she is standing still. The Senator will be in Bristol Bay this weekend! She has to hear our outrcy for help, our SOS because Bristol Bay is under attack!. We need her to act before it is too late. Pebble and the Trump Administration think they can sneakily get this by us while we are busy fishing but they underestimate the dedication and perseverance of the Bristol Bay fleet and people, to protect our fishery.” 

 

“Like many thousands across Alaska from every walk of life we are pushing back against Governor Dunleavy’s corrupt willingness to hand over our resources to outside interests,” said fishing veteran Robin Samuelsen from the back deck of F/V Robyn Darlene. “The Governor knows the people of the region will see no benefit from this yet he has invited Trump’s EPA to shove mine permits down our throats. The hell with them, we will never give up the fight. Stand proud Bristol Bay we will prevail!”   

 

Alannah Hurley, set-net fishermen and Executive Director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay stated from Clark’s Point, “It’s time for our elected leaders like Senator. Lisa Murkowski to step in and say enough is enough. The people of Bristol Bay and the people of Alaska, who sent her to D.C., have waited for over a decade for her leadership on this issue and we have never needed her more than we do now. She says she supports fair process and we have a mountain of evidence that this so-called process is nothing but political corruption at its finest, to rubber stamp Pebble’s permit on the backs of the people of Bristol Bay. Senator Murkowski needs to stop playing political games and take a stand for her constituents instead of gambling with our future for the profit of a foreign mining company. This SOS is an outcry from Bristol Bay because our people, our way of life, and our future generations are under siege. She has the opportunity and the responsibility to do the right thing  and we demand nothing less of leaders who are supposed to be representing our best interests.”

 

Murkowski will be in Bristol Bay for a ribbon cutting ceremony at Katmai National Park’s Brooks Falls and a private fundraiser hosted by shipping company owner Jim Jansen.