Gov. Parnell Fails to Protect Wild Alaskan Salmon from Coal Strip Mining Through Cook Inlet Salmon Stream

Is this the future of Cook Inlet Salmon? Photo by C Wood

Governor Parnell and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources have dismissed a petition filed by the Chuitna Citizens Coalition that would have prevented the destruction of 11 miles of wild salmon stream on the west side of Upper Cook Inlet.

The petition was filed in response to the proposed Chuitna Coal Strip Mine, which would completely remove a highly productive salmon stream to a depth of 350 feet below the surface.  The Chuitna Citizens Coalition submitted the petition in January 2010 to designate a buffer around the Chuit River and its tributaries as unsuitable for surface coal mining.  This would not prevent coal mining in the are

a, but would provide 150-foot buffers on either side of salmon-bearing streams, similar to requirements for logging operations.

“Governor Parnell should be ashamed of himself,” said Judy Heilman, President of the Chuitna Citizens Coalition.  “We trusted the Governor when he said his administration would never trade one resource for another.  But now it’s clear.  The Governor is willing to trade our salmon and fishing jobs in exchange for coal to power China.”

If permitted, the Chuitna coal strip mine would be the first project in state history to mine completely through a wild Alaska salmon stream. Alaskans submitted over 1200 letters and cards to Governor Parnell in support of the unsuitable lands designation.  Moreover, the Associated Press reported that supporters of the petition outnumbered opponents by a count of 150 to 2 at a public hearing conducted by the Department of Natural Resources.  DNR held a similar hearing in the Native Village of Tyonek, where 98% of residents oppose the Chuitna coal project according to local surveys.  Various groups, inlcuding the United Fishermen of Alaska, the United Cook Inlet Drift Association and others also oppose the project and the dangerous precedent it would set.

“Governor Parnell always criticizes the federal government and says Alaska can manage its resources responsibly,” said Heilman.  “But mining through a wild Alaska salmon stream is not responsible development, and it will set a horrible precedent throughout the state.”

Various expert reports have argued PacRim Coal cannot re-create the complexities of a wild Alaska salmon stream once it’s been mined.

Alaska’s coal mining law allows citizens to petition to have certain lands designated as unsuitable for surface coal mining if the mined lands cannot be returned to their pre-mining functions and values.  Through this petition process, the DNR commissioner can designate lands as unsuitable for surface coal mining if he determines that reclamation is not feasible.

Petitioners are reviewing DNR’s decision, and will provide a more detailed response in the near future.