Introduction
You may have heard of the plans to develop a massive coal strip mine near the small community of Beluga and the village of Tyonek, 40 miles west of Anchorage across the Cook Inlet. This enormous project would extract more than 1 billion tons of coal over the next 25 years, making it the largest coal mine in Alaskan
history.
According to the EPA, if the proposed project is approved, PacRim's development would include a surface coal mine and associated support facilities. The proposed infrastructure would include a mine access road, coal transport conveyor, personnel housing, and an air strip facility. At Ladd Landing, directly on Cook Inlet, a logistic center and coal export terminal would be built. The coal export terminal would include a 10,000-foot trestle constructed into Cook Inlet for the purpose of loading ocean-going coal transport ships.
ACE Public Lands Advocate, Eric Uhde, has met periodically with residents of Beluga to hear the concerns they have about a project of this size in their close-knit neighborhood. Many residents questioned the impact of the proposed mine on air and water quality, on the lifestyle of the small community which relies on healthy fish stocks, and on disturbance of the surrounding watershed. Initial development plans call for the daily discharge of 7 million gallons of mine wastewater, the equivalent of dumping 10½ olympic-size swimming pools of industrial waste into the pristine salmon streams of the Chuitna River Watershed.
Current Issues
Petition Filed to Prevent Chuitna River Surface Mining
ACE along with local citizens and other conservation groups filed a legal petition requesting the Alaska Department of Natural Resources designate all lands within the Chuitna River watershed, on the western shore of Cook Inlet, as unsuitable for surface coal mining. A Delaware corporation, PacRim Coal, plans to develop the Chuitna coal strip mine, which threatens to destroy over 30 square miles of intact fish and wildlife habitat, including tributaries of the salmon-rich Chuitna River. Additional adjacent leases in the area could bring the total disturbed area to over 55 square miles. Because the complex wetlands and salmon stream hydrology in the region make mining and post-mining reclamation virtually impossible, local citizens and groups have asked DNR to recognize the region as unsuitable for intensive strip mining activity.
View Press Release
View Petition
One of America's 2007 Most Endangered Rivers
On April 17, American Rivers listed the Chuitna River as
one of the 10 most endangered rivers in the United
States.The Chuitna River is under immediate threat
from
PacRim Coal's proposed Chuitna Coal Strip Mine
Project. The proposed mine will destroy this wild
river's surrounding watershed and dump billions of
gallons of mining waste into rich fisheries habitat
every year. The mine will also include a 2-mile trestle
that extends into Cook Inlet that will affect both Cook
Inlet Beluga and Salmon populations.
Download America's Most Endangered Rivers Report
Visit American Rivers
Media Event
Cook Inletkeeper, Alaska Center for the Environment, Alaskans for Responsible Mining, Chuitna Citizens Coalition, and locals from the communities of Beluga and Tyonek gathered at Elderberry Park in Anchorage on April 17, 2007 to announce the endangered listing and sound the alarm about what this mine would do to salmon and wildlands within the Chuitna River Watershed.
Read the news coverage about the announcement:
Online Resources:
Documents:
Chuitna Press Release
Chuitna Fact Sheet
EPA Scoping Documents
Posters:
Chuitna River: Waters that Sustain Alaskans
The Story of the Chuitna Coal Strip Mine Project
The Chuitna: One of 2007's Most Endangered Rivers
Photos:
Chuitna Photo Gallery
Maps:
Chuitna Mine Maps
Other Websites:
Cook Inletkeeper
EPA: Chuitna Environmental Impact Statement
What You Can Do:
It's important that we let our politicians know that the Chuitna Strip Mine will harm wilderness, wildlife, streams and communities located within or near the Chuitna River watershed. Review the above documents as well as the following example letter for talking points.
Dear ____________,
As an Alaskan, I am concerned about the adverse impacts that PacRim Coal’s proposed Chuitna Coal Strip Mine would have on the pristine habitats of the Chuitna River watershed and the communities that rely on this area for sustainable recreational, subsistence, and commercial activities. This mine would destroy the surrounding watershed and dump billions of gallons of mining waste into rich fisheries habitat every year.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will issue a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement by summer 2007. Additionally, the state of Alaska has convened its Large Mine Permitting Team to oversee all of the permits necessary for the mine’s approval.The EPA and the Large Mine Permitting Team should reject these permits, resisting pressure from mine operators.
Coal strip mines have already devastated landscapes and communities in the lower 48 states, and we, as Alaskans, are asking you to prevent this from happening in a state that cherishes its wildlands, in a state that can think differently about its energy needs due to its vast potential for renewable energy solutions, and in a state we proudly call home.
Sincerely,
_____________
Send a letter to the following politicians:
Governor Sarah Palin
Juneau Office
P.O. Box 110001
Juneau, AK 99811-0001
Submit Comments Here
Senator Lisa Murkowski
Washington, D.C. Office
709 Hart Senate Building
Washington D.C., 20510
Submit Comments Here
State Senator Albert Kookesh
State Capitol, Room 11
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Email Comments Here
State Representative Woodie Salmon
State Capitol, Room 114
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Email Comments Here
You can also write a letter to the editor, and let your community know that the Chuitna Coal Mine is not in the best interest of Alaska, its citizens, or its environment.
Anchorage Daily News
1 (800) 478-4200
Email: letters@adn.com
250 words
The Frontiersman
(907) 376-5225
Email: editor@alaska.net
Bi-weekly
Chuitna Photo Gallery
A Chuitna Coal Mine would greatly affect the areas seen in these pictures. According to the EPA, the proposed infrastructure would include a mine access road, coal transport conveyor, personnel housing, and an air strip facility. At Ladd Landing, a logistic center and coal export terminal would be built. The coal export terminal would include a 10,000-foot trestle constructed into Cook Inlet for the purpose of loading ocean-going coal transport ships.
PacRim Coal predicts a mine life of at least 25 years. The company owns 20,571 acres of coal leases in the region.
Beluga Power Plant
Ladd Landing
The only bridge crossing the Chuitna River
Wetland area with Alaska Range in background
Bluffs over Cook Inlet
Wetlands in Chuitna drainage basin
Chuitna River
Pond and wetland in Chuitna drainage basin
Chuitna River
Want to know more? Contact our Public Lands Advocate Eric 274-3639 or eric@akcenter.org
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