Canadian official in Alaska amid mine development concerns

  • By Becky Bohrer Associated Press
  • Wednesday, August 26, 2015 1:03pm
  • Business

JUNEAU, Alaska — British Columbia’s minister of energy and mines is in Alaska this week, meeting with state officials and hearing from residents concerned about the impacts of potential Canadian mine development on rivers that flow into southeast Alaska.

Bill Bennett is scheduled to attend a press conference with Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott on Wednesday. Mallott invited Bennett to Alaska after visiting British Columbia earlier this year.

The ministry, in a statement released prior to the visit, said Bennett planned as part of the meetings to discuss ways in which the province and Alaska can work together “to ensure the protection, conservation and enhancement of the shared environment.” The ministry delegation, led by Bennett, also planned to continue working with state officials toward an agreement “that will allow for more collaboration on proposed mine developments,” the statement said.

Conservationists, Alaska Natives and fishermen are among those who have sought for Alaska to have a greater say in Canadian permitting decisions for projects that could impact salmon-bearing waters in the state. Currently seven major projects in northwest British Columbia have potential trans-boundary implications.

Last year’s failure of a mine-waste storage facility in another part of the province heightened fears about how development near Alaska’s shared border with British Columbia could affect rivers and streams that flow into southeast Alaska.

Some groups want an international commission to review the planned developments and their potential impacts on downstream waters. Both Bennett’s office and Mallott have indicated that such calls are premature.

State Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau, attended a meeting with the provincial delegation Tuesday. He was interested in there being a way for Alaskans to be included during the public comment period for British Columbia’s mine review processes. He said Mallott indicated that was being worked on, and the ministry delegation seemed “very enthusiastic about receiving comments from our side of the border in that fashion,” Kito said.

“That, I think, will help with allowing us to be as engaged as people in British Columbia during their regular permitting process,” he said. One challenge will be in notifying the public of the comment periods, he said.

David Haslam, a ministry spokesman, has said representatives from state and U.S. federal agencies have been involved in environmental assessments of mining projects in British Columbia and that the state has been involved in the approval process for a number of the mine projects.

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