WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper, top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded its environmental review for Pebble Mine project in Alaska and clearing a path for the project to be approved.
“The Trump Administration’s determination that the Pebble Mine project will bear no harm to the environment does not change the fact that the Pebble Mine project poses a real and undeniable threat to the environment.
“The science is crystal clear, as clear as the waters teeming with hundreds of thousands of sockeye salmon throughout Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The Pebble Mine project threatens to permanently destroy the waters and wetlands that sustain the world’s most productive salmon habitat and support the economy, health and way of life of nearby Alaska Native communities.
“Everything we know about mining operations tells us that this project could have devastating consequences for environmental health and water quality. One single, simple misstep could have irreversible consequences, causing concentrated metals and toxins to seep into the head of the Bristol Bay, poisoning the waters that support life in the bay and quality of life in the region.
“What’s also crystal clear is the opposition to this project from nearby Alaska Native communities, who stand to lose the most from this decision. The ecological and environmental damage this project could create would also devastate the billion-dollar fishing industry that buttresses the economy, health and quality of life for those communities. Alaska Native communities deserve to have their voices heard.
“This decision is another example of the Trump Administration’s total disregard for science, which is rivaled only by its complete and utter disregard for the human and environmental consequences of its actions. Once again, the president is pushing aside the interests of Indigenous communities for the sake of insatiable corporations. The Trump Administration must reverse course.”
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