A Cautionary "Tail" for Alaskans

A Cautionary 'tail'

 by Jack A. Stanford - The Juneau Empire

I, and a number of other interested Montanans, have been following the proposals for a large number of mines in the British Columbia portions of the Taku, Stikine and Unuk River watersheds.

We in Montana have had decades of experience with BC mines and their polluting effects on our shared, transboundary rivers — not to mention their polluting effects on BC’s own resources.

Our direct experience with pollution of Montana waters and contaminated fish comes of being downriver from a string of coalmines in the Elk River drainage of BC.

And as for BC polluting their own resources, and what one might expect from the proposed mines in the shared watersheds between Alaska and BC, one need look no further than the catastrophic mine tailings failure at the Mount Polley mine in BC just this past year, one of the worst mining disasters in the history of the world.

We understand that BC might ask Alaska to sign a so-called Memorandum of Understanding similar to those BC has managed to negotiate with the states of Washington, Montana and Idaho.

Make no mistake, such an MOU would be a disaster for Alaska and the tens of thousands of Alaskans who rely on the waters of these magnificent rivers for their sustenance and way of life that has endured for centuries. BC Minister Bill Bennett is in Alaska preaching “cooperation” and will likely seek an MOU.

Alaska’s response should be a resounding NO!

Before BC entered into MOUs with its southern U.S. neighbors, we in Montana had an equal seat at the table with regard to a coal mine proposal for the BC portion of the Flathead River.

That proposal would assuredly pollute the river that forms the western boundary of Glacier National park and Flathead Lake. Equal numbers of Americans and Canadians participated in a comprehensive study that reached a consensus conclusion that construction of the mine should not proceed until there was a level of risk acceptable to both the U.S. and Canadian governments.

That mine was never built, and Montana and BC citizens forced BC (in 2010) to prohibit mining in the entire Flathead watershed.

Since that time, BC has worked hard to establish these MOUs. Why? Because they essentially bind the signatory states to participate in upstream BC mine proposals only in the context of the BC permitting process.

When a downstream US state agrees to this stipulation, they surrender the protection guaranteed to them under Article IV of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, and the strong downstream protections described in other international instruments.

We in Montana have been keen observers of the BC permitting process, and we have experienced the polluting nature of BC practices. BC’s current mine licensing process is wired for approval, while the Canadian federal environmental safeguards have been substantially weakened recently. The mining companies themselves dictate the environmental data and heavily influence the permitting process.

The proposed mines in the BC-Alaska transboundary region will pollute Alaskan waters. It is not a question of when, but rather by how much, and to what extent the billion-dollar per year Alaska salmon fishery in the Taku, Stikine and Unuk watersheds will be damaged, and the livelihoods and way of life of tens of thousands of people degraded.

Should Alaska sign the same kind of MOU as was signed with Washington State, Montana and Idaho, Alaska will find it has forfeited its right to compensation when mining impacts its fish and water. Native peoples who have lived in rhythm with the natural cycles of these magnificent rivers, and those who depend on that fishery and on the tourism dollars associated with it, will be the big losers.

I hope the elected officials of the state of Alaska will protect the state’s existing right to full protection of the international waters of the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers, and reject the empty rhetoric and “promise” of meaningless MOUs with BC.

Don’t sign it! Let’s follow common sense and work with BC citizens proactively to really understand the long-term environmental and economic consequences of the BC mines in advance of construction and operations.

Dr. Jack A. Stanford is a professor of ecology at the University of Montana and director of the Flathead Lake Biological Station.