Five Western senators question Obama on proposed Alaskan mine & TELL EPA TO ACT ON ITS FINDINGS AND REJECT THE PEBBLE MINE! 9JUN13

THE NRDC and a host of other environmental groups have been waging a campaign against the Pebble Mine for the last few years. It is good these five Senators from the Pacific Coast have joined the struggle, now it is time for all of us to join in
. To find out more about the environmental threat from the Pebble mine go to the NRDC's Stop The Pebble Mine campaign webpage http://www.savebiogems.org/stop-pebble-mine/?__utma=1.119269012.1370818096.1370818096.1370818096.1&__utmb=1.2.10.1370818096&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1370818096.1.1.utmcsr=link|utmccn=email|utmcmd=alert&__utmv=-&__utmk=182721574
and check out Frontline's report on it at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/alaska-gold/
YOU can send a message in opposing the Pebble Mine to the EPA Acting Administrator until 30JUN13 by clicking the link in this call to action from the NRDC....

		The time for studying the Pebble Mine is over. The EPA has once again confirmed that the PebbleMine would be a disaster for Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Tell the agency to act on its findings and reject the Pebble Mine! Enough study. It’s time for action! The EPA has just released its latest scientific findings. And once again it has determined that the Pebble Mine would be devastating for the spectacular wilderness, wildlife and people of Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The time for study is over! Tell the EPA to finalize its assessment and stop the Pebble Mine.  The agency is inviting the public to send comments until June 30 -- so we’re aiming to flood them with 500,000 anti-Pebble messages by month’s end. Please do your part today! There are 10 billion reasons for EPA to stop this mega-mine. That’s how many tons of contaminated mining waste the Pebble Minewould produce, endangering one of America’s great natural treasures. I’m sure you agree: We can’t stand by and allow a toxic mega-mine to destroy a world-class salmon fishery that provides 14,000 jobs and generates $1.5 billion per year just to fill the pockets of a few global miningcompanies. The EPA has produced all the scientific evidence it needs to stop this mine. What’s more, it has the clear authority under the Clean Water Act to do so. But the agency and the White House are under enormous pressure from the mining industry to give the Pebble Mine the green light.That’s why it’s so crucial that they hear from 500,000 outraged Americansright away. Please tell EPA you will not tolerate the destruction of one of our planet’s last and greatest wild places. Tell them to turn their latest findings into action by rejecting the Pebble Mine. Thank you for standing with NRDC and our local partners in defense of Bristol Bay. Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

FIVE WESTERN SENATORS QUESTION OBAMA ON PROPOSED ALASKAN MINE

By Juliet Eilperin, Sunday, June 9, 5:37 PM

Five Democratic senators are asking President Obama to consider blocking a proposed mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, a move that could heighten pressure on theEnvironmental Protection Agency to veto the project.
In a letter Monday, the group of senators from Washington, Oregon and California, led by Maria Cantwell (Wash.), argue that their states could suffer economically if a huge gold-and-copper mine moves forward. The EPA is conducting a scientific review of how the project, underwritten by mining giants Northern Dynasty and Anglo American, would affect the region’s aquatic life.
The group of senators — which includes Patty Murray (Wash.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.) — points to a recent study by the University of Alaska Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) that estimates that salmon fishing in Bristol Bay provides their states with $500 million in direct income. In addition, the study says, Washington, Oregon and California benefit from $674 million in economic activity from the region’s salmon fishing and processing.
“Our states have a strong maritime history of which our commercial fishing industries are a key part,” the senators write. “In order to maintain these direct fishing and processing jobs, and the jobs supported by associated businesses like gear manufacturers, shipbuilders, suppliers and other maritime businesses, we must maintain healthy, sustainable fishery resources.”
In the letter, the senators ask Obama to “make staff from both the Council on Environmental Quality and the Department of Commerce available to our staff to discuss the implications of this economic report, and how these two agencies, specifically, are working with the EPA to protect our maritime economies.”
Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA can invoke the rarely used section 404(c) authority , which bars the Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a federal permit on the grounds that a project would harm the region’s waterways, fish and wildlife.
The EPA issued a draft watershed assessment last year saying the mine would probably cause the loss of between 54 and 89 miles of streams and between four and seven square miles of wetlands, and any mining accident there could cause serious damage to the salmon habitat. Agency officials are accepting comments on the analysis until June 30 and have said they have not decided what action they plan to take on the proposed mine.
The coalition backing the mine argues that its economic benefits would outweigh any possible environmental damage, and Alaska senators Lisa Murkowski (R) and Mark Begich (D) have warned the EPA against issuing a “pre-emptive veto” of the project. Last month, the Pebble Mine Partnership released an economic analysis estimating that the project would generate 2,500 construction jobs during the five years that it would take to build the facility and up to $180 million in taxes and royalties.
The EPA could not be reached for comment Sunday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/five-western-senators-question-obama-on-proposed-alaskan-mine/2013/06/09/80cc0c90-d115-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html?wprss=rss_politics