Pebble Mine

Submit a Public Comment

Call on EPA to Finalize Permanent Protections for Bristol Bay This Year

For too long, Pebble has been an ever-present threat in Bristol Bay. Future generations should not have to live with the threat of mining that would devastate our cultures, communities, and sustainable economy. Please join us in asking EPA to use its Clean Water Act authority this year to ensure that Bristol Bay’s pristine lands and waters are protected forever.

Anyone who is neither a BBNC shareholder nor a descendent of a BBNC shareholder, thank you. BBNC appreciates your support. Please go to https://www.utbb.org/public-comment and share your support.

Comments are due by September 6th  (unless EPA grants an extension).



  • Via Regulations.gov

    Michael S. Regan
    Administrator
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
    1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
    Washington, D.C. 20004

    Casey Sixkiller
    Regional Administrator, Region 10
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
    1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 155
    Seattle, WA 98101

    Re: Docket ID No. EPA–R10–OW–2022–0418; Finalize Protections for Bristol Bay

    Dear Administrator Regan and Regional Administrator Sixkiller:

    I am a shareholder or shareholder descendant of Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) with ancestral ties to Bristol Bay, Alaska. I am writing to urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to permanently protect Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine by finalizing strong and durable Clean Water Act Section 404(c) protections.

    Bristol Bay is home to the largest wild sockeye salmon runs in the world and it is the lifeline for the people of the region and all those who depend on it. Bristol Bay’s wild salmon have been the foundation of Alaska Native subsistence, culture, and traditions in the region for thousands of years. Bristol Bay is a national treasure, producing half of the world’s commercial supply of wild sockeye salmon, sustaining 15,000 annual jobs, and generating roughly $2.2 billion in annual economic activity.

    More than a decade of scientific study and review and a robust administrative record all support EPA protecting the critical watersheds around the Pebble deposit. As proposed in the Pebble 2020 mine plan, the 20-year mine would destroy approximately 100 miles of streams and 2,100 acres of wetlands, completely decimating headwaters critical to sustaining Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery. As EPA’s robust scientific record shows, even destroying 5 miles of salmon streams and 1,100 acres of wetlands would pose an unacceptable adverse impact to Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery. Because of its location, size, and type, if built Pebble Mine would destroy our pristine waters, salmon fishery, and way of life.

    The vast majority of BBNC shareholders and Bristol Bay residents support EPA action to end the threat of the proposed Pebble Mine and want to see the region protected for good. The threat that the proposed Pebble Mine poses to the people and resources of Bristol Bay has loomed over Bristol Bay for far too long. We thank EPA for restarting the Clean Water Act Section 404(c) process and urge it to take effective, durable, and timely action to protect the North Fork Koktuli, South Fork Koktuli, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds from the threats posed by large-scale hard rock porphyry mining.

    Sincerely,