Less than two decades after the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia opened, disaster struck.

“Trust the process...” That’s what Pebble's ads and decision makers keep telling us about Pebble's permit review, but behind the scenes our Governor is working closely with Pebble. 

We’ve been calling out these issues for months - since we first saw Pebble’s plan - and we’re not the only ones. Now, we have the ear of our Senators, who are in a position to do something about it.

No one comes to Bristol Bay to fish below a bridge, or listen to an early morning explosion, or hear heavy equipment in the distance, creating what appears to be a dust storm. The infrastructure that Pebble would bring would change the face of Bristol Bay sport fishing industry permanently- and not for the better.

We know, we know: at the outset, this seems like splitting hairs. But the reality is, dust is a huge impact that is not currently even being acknowledged by the agency considering issuing Pebble a permit to construct a massive mine in Bristol Bay.

Selenium is a chemical element with similarities to arsenic that is toxic to fish and wildlife when present in elevated levels.

Our scientific analysis has revealed that Selenium in Pebble’s discharge water would almost certainly be toxic to fish in Bristol Bay.

Yesterday, the sole company backing the proposed Pebble mine, Northern Dynasty Minerals, filed its 2018 annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC is responsible for protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of the securities markets.

Last Friday, as the public comment period on Pebble’s first federal permits opened, Dr. Cameron Wobus presented eye-opening findings from a Pebble Mine tailings dam failure analysis that have commercial fishermen, and many others, concerned about potential impacts of Pebble’s plan.

While this has an obvious impact to fisheries (salmon can’t spawn if their headwaters streams are wiped out), there are less obvious - but extremely severe - risks as well, including metals that will be introduced through mining operations to the waters. Copper is one such metal.

The DEIS says copper will be present at levels above water quality standards for 80 miles (Koktuli to the Mulchatna). That is a major concern. Here’s why: