In April, a group of concerned Bristol Bay citizens filed a petition with the Lake and Peninsula Borough. The Save our Salmon initiative is designed to give locals a voice in decisions about large-scale industrial development. If the petitioners are successful, the borough's permitting code will change to give residents the final word on any major resource extraction activity that could harm waters with salmon.
That seems fair. If you're a company with a brilliant plan for development, with jobs to stimulate the economy, an outstanding environmental and worker safety record, and a truly open and transparent information-sharing program, a vote should be no threat.
The initiative didn't name any specific projects, producers or companies and, like any other initiative, it was submitted with the signatures of people registered to vote in the Lake and Peninsula Borough. Kate Conley, the borough clerk, had the job of checking the names to make sure Mickey Mouse wasn't on the list.
Then she was sued.
The Pebble Partnership, owners of the giant Pebble mine prospect, filed a suit against her and the borough for certifying the initiative. In the lawsuit, the prayer for relief asks the court to take away the initiative rights of the local people.
Why?
Because no matter how much money Pebble spends on slick advertising and no matter how many times they repeat their mind-numbing mantra of "wait and see," the fact is, mine backers know that many residents oppose their development.
No amount of spun-sugar can mask the bitter fact that if developed, Pebble would become the largest open pit mine in North America. It would require the construction of dams higher than Seattle's Space Needle. It would wreak havoc on the area's hydrological cycles. It would use more power and water than Anchorage every day. And it would generate millions of gallons of dilute sulfuric acid, all in a place with lots of earthquakes and volcanic activity.
In addition, the reputations of some of the companies associated with Pebble aren't exactly stellar. In fact, Norway's permanent fund divested its holdings in some of them because of severe environmental damage associated with their mines elsewhere. Prominent corporations such as Japanese giant Mitsubishi, Tiffany & Co. and dozens of other jewelry companies have pulled their support or involvement from the Pebble project. Those corporations have shareholders who vote, and they have decided that Pebble is a bad investment.
Over the last two years we have borne witness to arguably the greatest man-made environmental and ecological disasters ever seen. In April of 2010, the BP Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 men and dumping hundreds of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
In March, an earthquake and tsunami knocked out the Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, a disaster that may surpass Chernobyl. A flood of radioactive wastewater is flowing into the Pacific Ocean.
All along the Gulf of Mexico and northern coast of Japan, local people are suffering the consequences of two different industries with the best of intentions. There were permitting processes for both deep-water drilling in the Gulf and nuclear reactors beside an active seismic zone.
What could go wrong with drilling for oil in 5,000 feet of water? What could go wrong with a nuclear plant built to withstand a 7.9 earthquake?
What could go wrong with building a large open pit mine at the headwaters of the richest wild salmon run in the world?
It's ironic that Pebble is promising to bring jobs to an area of Alaska that is desperate for work while preventing locals from having any formal say in how the project is developed.
I'm not a fisheries biologist or a mining engineer. I'm not a nutritionist or chef either. But if you have something good to offer, you don't need to shove it down anyone's throat.
Pebble, let the local people decide if they want to eat what you're cooking up.
Shannyn Moore is host of "The Shannyn Moore Show" on KOAN 1020 AM and 95.5 FM radio, and the television show "Moore Up North" on KYES Channel 5.
SHANNYN MOORE
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