Flowing Downhill
Salmon is king in Southeast. In our Senate district roughly 800 households earn at least a piece of their income from fish. Even more of us fill our freezers with it. Grade-schoolers learn about the salmon lifecycle. It’s a vital part of our culture.
So we care about the quality of the water—often in Canada—where Southeast salmon spawn and rear. Water is oddly consistent about flowing downhill. So what happens in British Columbia ends up in Alaska. That means environmental threats from big mines in the headwaters of the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers are serious business.
Mines across the border don’t have to meet the same standards Alaska mines do. That makes us extra nervous. This week, two representatives from the BC government visited Juneau to talk about these transboundary issues. They deserve a lot of credit for being willing to talk and take tough questions. I moderated a panel Tuesday at the Juneau Mining Forum where I was able to ask several myself. I heard a whole lot of “we’re working on it” and not a lot of “we’ve done it.”
That's not just about old problems like the Tulsequah Chief mine that shut down in 1957 and still hasn’t been reclaimed. (There's acid rock drainage leaching from it today.) It's also about things like the too-low bonds Canadian miners have to post. The BC folks bragged they recently made progress toward reducing the gap between how much dough companies post to cover future closure costs, and what it's actually expected to cost. Alaska mines don't get to have a gap.
How do Alaskans get some say on what's happening across the border where our salmon spawn? The State of Alaska signed a non-binding agreement with BC in 2015. It lets our agency folks figuratively sit at the table when mine permits get considered. I asked for examples of things that got changed because of the agreement, but they couldn't name anything substantive. They talk often, and I'm told the Alaskans are 'always pushing.' That's the strongest voice we've got.
But it doesn't have to be. There's an actual treaty between the US and Canada to manage transboundary waters. It can do binding things through the International Joint Commission.
This week I signed (yet another) letter calling on the US and Canada to use that so our salmon and clean water are really protected as Canadian mines get considered.
Our salmon matter too much for half measures.
