Mine operations will cause mercury to spike to unsafe levels BETHEL, AK — The Orutsararmiut Traditional Native Council (ONC), a federally recognized Tribe based in Bethel, took legal action today to protect the Kuskokwim River and its tributaries from the irreversible damage that will be caused by the Donlin Gold Mine. ONC filed a Notice […]
May 10, 2021 (Juneau, AK) – Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has directed the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Spill Prevention and Response (SPAR) to allocate up to $2.5 million for the safe removal of asbestos and debris left behind after an abandoned school building in Chevak burned to the ground last March. Following […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Commissioner for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, traveled to Western Alaska last week to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak and Chevak to discuss disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Response and recovery efforts continue this week in Tuluksak after the community’s water plant was destroyed in a fire last month. Personnel from the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs visited Tuluksak Monday and Tuesday. The department’s tribal liaison and an emergency management specialist met with local leaders to […]
Response crews, made of Alyeska Pipeline, the Coast Guard and Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation report that as of Monday afternoon 798 barrels of water/oil mix has been collected from the spill that occurred just west of the Emergency Response Building at the Valdez Marine Terminal. Of that 33,516 gallons of water/oil mix, three […]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Coast Guard responded to a report of an oil sheen in Kitoi Bay Friday. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage Incident Management Division and Marine Safety Detachment Kodiak issued a Notice of Federal Interest to Kitoi Bay Hatchery, today, after receiving notification of an oil spill in Kitoi Bay on Afognak Island. The Oil Spill Liability […]
Alaska’s environmental conservation agency is looking for public input into revising oil spill prevention and contingency plan requirements, prompting criticism from the advisory council created in the wake of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster. “Strong statues and regulations are a big part of why Alaska has not had a major oil spill since […]
A Fairbanks man pleaded guilty to “one count of Protection of Fish and Game and one count of Oil Pollution for putting his car in the Chena River,” AST revealed this week. While 29-year-old Mario Bruce was initially sentenced to 60 days in jail and a $10,000 fine, the jail sentence was suspended as was […]
JUNEAU, Alaska — Coast Guard Sector Juneau personnel will conduct an oil spill response exercise in Ketchikan, Thursday. Representatives from the Coast Guard, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Southeast Alaska Petroleum Response Organization and Western Canadian Marine Response Corporation will participate in the exercise, where an exclusion boom will be deployed in Ward Cove and Whipple Creek. […]