This page provides answers to common questions that EPA has addressed regarding our watershed assessment for Bristol Bay. Last updated June 10, 2011.
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EPA's Role
Is EPA invoking Clean Water Act section 404(c) with regard to the potential Pebble Mine?
The agency is not invoking Clean Water Act section 404(c) at this time - and it may not at all.
This watershed assessment examines the effects of large-scale development in general—not a specific project or the proposed Pebble Mine. EPA will study information related to the Pebble Mine because it is the most likely large scale development project in the near term future. The information we gather will establish a scientific foundation for any decisions the EPA may make in the future.
Why is EPA doing this assessment? Why now, before it has received a mine proposal?
EPA initiated this assessment in response to petitions from nine federally recognized tribes and other stakeholders who asked us to take action to protect Bristol Bay’s salmon populations. They have expressed concern that the significant Bristol Bay salmon fishery would be at risk from large-scale mining.
We also heard from other tribes and stakeholders who support development in the Bristol Bay watershed and have requested we take no action until a permitting process begins.
EPA is performing this assessment to better understand the watershed and its resources. This information will then inform the agency’s response to these requests.
What authority is EPA using for its watershed assessment?
EPA is conducting this assessment under its Clean Water Act Section 104(a) authority, which directs the agency to:
…conduct and promote the coordination and acceleration of, research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution.
What is Clean Water Act Section 404(c)?
Clean Water Act Section 404(c) authorizes EPA to restrict, prohibit, deny, or withdraw the use of a water body as a disposal site for dredged or fill material—such as mining and other waste—if the discharge will have unacceptable adverse impacts on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas.
Clean Water Act Section 404(c) authority may be exercised before a permit application is submitted, while an application is pending, or after a permit has been issued.
What is the scope of the analysis?
EPA is learning more about the potential short- and long-term impacts of large-scale development in the Bristol Bay watershed. EPA is reviewing existing scientific studies and data for the Bristol Bay watershed. Due to the significance of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, we are particularly interested in potential impacts to salmon, but will also look into potential impacts northern pike, rainbow trout, whitefish and grayling, and wildlife such as bear, caribou and waterfowl.
Is EPA going to evaluate the entire Bristol Bay watershed?
Our efforts are focused on the parts of the watershed that are open for large-scale development, primarily in the Nushagak and Kvichak watersheds.
What questions does EPA aim to answer with this watershed analysis?
The questions we want to answer with this analysis are:
- Is the Bristol Bay salmon fishery a one-of-a-kind, world class fishery?
- What are the existing and potential risks to Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery associated with large-scale development activities such as hard rock mining?
- Are there technologies or practices that will mitigate these risks?
How long will this watershed analysis take and when can we expect to see results?
The tentative schedule is to have a draft available for public, tribal and stakeholder review in spring 2012 and a final product in late summer of 2012.
Has EPA ever done an assessment like this before?
The mission of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment. Thus, evaluating the environmental impacts of different activities is a central responsibility and function of the agency.
EPA has conducted assessments that evaluate the impacts of past actions or estimate the potential impacts of future actions on the environment, including studies that:
There are many more examples of similar studies the agency has done in the past.
Will the results of the watershed assessment affect all future development proposals (e.g., an airstrip, fish-processing plant, refinery, hospital, school, museum) that may require a dredge or fill disposal site?
It is highly unlikely that local community development proposals would be affected by this watershed assessment, which is focused on better understanding “…existing and potential risks to Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery associated with large-scale development activities such as hard rock mining…”
Only development projects that would be constructed in wetlands or would require wetlands to be filled are those that are subject to the provisions of Clean Water Act Section 404. These types of development are currently subject to a permitting process, which the agency monitors continuously.
Would a Clean Water Act 404(c) decision affect the villages' ability to discharge from their sewage treatment facilities?
No.
Sewage treatment plant discharges are regulated under a different section of the Clean Water Act law— Clean Water Act Section 402.
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Mining
How does this relate to the potential Pebble Mine?
All of the requests to initiate the Clean Water Act Section 404(c) process have expressed concern with potential impacts from metallic sulfide mining or a potential Pebble Mine. However, since our goal is to protect Bristol Bay’s salmon resources, EPA will evaluate all potential large-scale development in the watershed, including mining.
Will this affect mining prospects in other parts of Alaska outside of the Bristol Bay Watershed? Are you setting a precedent by doing this?
Each mining prospect has a unique set of circumstances that dictates the nature of the environmental review. It is unlikely that the agency would initiate similar assessments in the future. Those decisions would be a result of the specific facts around a mining prospect and natural resources at risk, not as a result of this watershed assessment.
Would EPA accept mining methods that would have fewer impacts on the Bristol Bay watershed?
As part of our assessment, the agency will evaluate potential risks of mining, other types of development and best practices that could mitigate environmental impacts.
What role does EPA play in the mining permitting process?
EPA may be heavily involved during the mining permitting process due to our authorities under the National Environmental Policy Act and Clean Water Act. Under NEPA, EPA reviews and comments on Environmental Impact Statements for proposed mines.
Under the Clean Water Act Section 404, EPA reviews the permit public notice, can elevate concerns, and can put restrictions on projects under Clean Water Act Section 404(c). Under Clean Water Act Section 402, EPA provides oversight of the state’s wastewater discharge (Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permits and can object to permits that do not meet requirements.
EPA may also have a role in reviewing air permits and writing underground injection control permits.
EPA also oversees the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ permit program for the discharge of fill material, which would be necessary for building roads or dams
What happens if permit applications are submitted for the Pebble Mine during the watershed assessment process?
If the Pebble Limited Partnership submits permit applications, EPA will continue its work on the Watershed Assessment. The agency would also become involved with other federal agencies and the state in the environmental review and permitting process. The watershed assessment would be used to inform these processes.
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Public Involvement
How will the public be involved?
EPA is committed to involving the Alaskan people and other stakeholders in discussions. The agency has planned a series of community outreach efforts in Alaska where it will present information from the watershed assessment and invite the public to present additional information.
Visit our Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment page to offer comments and find out when EPA will be in the community.
How will tribes be involved and will consultation occur?
EPA will consult with federally recognized tribes. We have contacted all Bristol Bay tribes in order to develop tribal consultation plans. EPA will also include tribal knowledge of the Bristol Bay watershed as part of its assessment.
Will EPA collect subsistence data and traditional knowledge?
Yes. EPA is reviewing documented subsistence and traditional knowledge. We will also collect information specific to the role of salmon and other fish and wildlife species in Alaska Native culture in the Bristol Bay watershed.
Is EPA working with the State of Alaska to develop a plan to assess the watershed? Does the state have a role in this?
EPA has staff that have been based in Alaska for decades who work regularly the state’s natural resource agency staff. The agency has been communicating with its state partners and welcomes their assistance in this effort.
The state has a central role in the Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment technical working group.
EPA is also seeking expertise from federal resource agencies and tribes.
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For questions or more information, contact us at r10bristolbay@epa.gov or sign up for our mailing list.