The state Board of Fisheries had requested such a study, along with the Legislature taking any steps it deemed necessary to provide "strict protections" for game and fish habitat in a region that's home to a premier commercial sockeye salmon fishery.
Legislators took testimony Friday from interests, including a Pebble Mine critic and state and mine officials, aimed at determining whether, and why, they should look at the issue.
In the end, several voiced support for a study.
"We have to make sure our standards are up to par," said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, a co-chair of the Senate Resources Committee, which held the joint hearing with a House panel.
Critics say the mine could be huge -- its footprint potentially covering 15 square miles, with an open pit and network of roads and power lines that could fundamentally alter the landscape and disrupt, if not destroy, a way of life in rural Alaska.
Supporters acknowledge the development could be massive -- there's a potential for 10 billion tons of ore -- but say it could last for decades and provide incredible opportunities, including up to 1,000 long-term jobs.
John Shively, chief executive of Pebble Limited Partnership, the group behind the mine, said the permitting process will help determine details like size and feasibility. He said the project could be in permitting early next year but told lawmakers Friday the project won't go anywhere if it can't be shown that fish will be protected.
Shively said he has no problems with the state commissioning a study. But he also raised questions about the current climate in Alaska in which the future or fate of other developments is being challenged.
Ed Fogels of Alaska's Department of Natural Resources said the state has a good permitting program and can do an adequate job given adequate resources in handling a mine the size of Pebble's potential. Fogels noted that he would need a full-time coordinator just for Pebble.
Rick Halford, a former state legislator, said he worries about the dangers that could be associated with such a large mine of this type.
Rep. Bryce Edgmon said it's different from other developments -- in potential size and location -- and that he'd support a study. It wasn't clear how narrow, or encompassing, a study might be.
Wielechowski said the full Legislature wouldn't have to sign off on a study, that it could be done through the Legislative Council at the request of a committee, like his. He hopes to advance it that way.
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