What's at Stake
The Kensington Mine
As part of its Kensington Mine project, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation obtained a permit to use Lower Slate Lake near Juneau as a disposal site for its mine tailings even though federal agencies concluded that this plan will kill all fish in the lake during the operation of the mine.
This sets a dangerous precedent for Alaska. If the Army Corps allows chemically treated mine waste to be dumped in a lake in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, the same thing can happen in almost any lake, river or stream.
Earlier plans for the Kensington Mine relied on a more responsible method for mine waste disposal. Coeur, however, changed these plans to cut costs and increase its profits. The Army Corps of Engineers did not follow the law when it authorized Coeur’s new plan to dump millions of tons of mining waste into a lake.
The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Sierra Club, and Lynn Canal Conservation challenged the Army Corps' disposal permit and, fortunately, the Corps decided to suspend and re-evaluate the permit.
This gives the Army Corps the chance to do the right thing for Alaska’s future by revoking the permit and replacing it with one that protects clean water and doesn’t allow the dumping of mine waste into Lower Slate Lake.
Fixing the permit would not only protect the public’s interest in maintaining the ecological, cultural, subsistence, and recreational values of Southeast Alaska but would also prevent other polluting mining operations in other parts of the country. Mining corporations need to act responsibly. Clean water comes first.
