BBDF Release: Representative Peltola’s Bill to Protect Bristol Bay is Welcomed by Tribes, Commercial Fisherman, Conservation Groups
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2024
Press contact: Grace Nolan, grace@team-arc.com
Representative Peltola’s Bill to Protect Bristol Bay is Welcomed by Tribes, Commercial Fisherman, Conservation Groups
The Bristol Bay Protection Act Will Codify EPA’s Decision to Protect Bristol Bay from the threat of the Pebble Mine
(Dillingham, Alaska) —Today, Congresswoman Mary Peltola (D-AK) introduced the Bristol Bay Protection Act, a bill to codify the 404(c) Clean Water Act final determination that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued last year to end the threat of the proposed Pebble Mine due to the adverse risks it poses to Bristol Bay’s waters and the surrounding ecosystem.
The introduction of this bill comes just weeks after Northern Dynasty Minerals and Pebble Limited Partnership filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court of Alaska challenging the EPA’s Clean Water Act Final Determination, a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Claims which alleged the EPA’s veta constituted an illegal “taking” of their property, and months after the State of Alaska filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA in the Supreme Court.
The 404(c) final determination was a hard-won victory for Bristol Bay Tribes and community members, thousands of people—including commercial and sport fishers, businesses, chefs, and others—whose lives and livelihoods depend on the thriving fishery, and millions more who are fed by Bristol Bay salmon from coast to coast and around the globe. This bill, if signed into law, is an important step toward ensuring that this special place, fishery, and community remains protected from the Pebble Mine.
People from all across Alaska and the nation—including the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, local Tribes and municipalities, village corporations, dozens of NGOs and nonprofits, commercial fishermen, sportsmen, businesses, chefs, and more—are united in support behind EPA’s Clean Water Act protections, which are based on a robust scientific and technical record that spans two decades.
In response to the introduction of the Bristol Bay Protection Act, Tribes, commercial and sport fishers, and conservation groups released the following statements:
“We are grateful that Congresswoman Peltola has introduced a bill to ensure that protections for Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine are codified into law. The Tribes in the region whose way of life, cultures, and traditions are inextricably linked to the health and prosperity of the Bristol Bay watershed and ecosystem deserve the peace of mind and reassurance that the threat of the Pebble Mine will not return again. We look forward to working with our leaders in Congress to ensure that Bristol Bay and its pristine waters will continue to support abundant salmon runs and our subsistence resources for years to come,” said Delores Larson, Deputy Director of United Tribes for Bristol Bay.
“The record-breaking salmon returns and the livelihoods they support in Bristol Bay aren’t seen anywhere else in the world, and they depend on Bristol Bay’s watershed remaining pristine and unpolluted. Congresswoman Mary Peltola’s Bristol Bay Protection Act would codify EPA’s Clean Water Act protections for this ecosystem that we fought for decades to secure. This bill, if signed into law, will ensure that the men and women who fish in Bristol Bay can continue to provide over half the world’s wild sockeye supply sustainably each summer, without the threat of the Pebble Mine looming overhead” said Katherine Carscallen, Executive Director of Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay.
“Bristol Bay’s world-class salmon runs depend on the watershed remaining healthy and Congresswoman Mary Peltola’s bill is a great step forward, offering a crucial opportunity to secure lasting protection from the Pebble Mine. Congress must codify EPA’s 404(c) Clean Water Act protections for the world’s most productive and profitable wild salmon fishery as soon as possible,” said Tim Bristol, Executive Director of SalmonState.
“This bill responds to the calls of Bristol Bay Tribes and communities, joined overwhelmingly by Alaskans, fishermen, conservation groups, scientists, businesses, and people the world over,” said Joel Reynolds, Western Director and Senior Attorney for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “Together, we have fought for more than a decade to stop the Pebble Mine and defend Bristol Bay from a Canadian mining company that has stalked the region's communities for a generation. Without congressional action, the only certainty for Bristol Bay's future will continue to be the inevitable pressure for large-scale mining in its headwaters, despite extraordinary efforts to preserve this national treasure forever."
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