Kilmer Applauds Decision to Approve Permanent Clean Water Act Protections for Bristol Bay, Blocking Proposed Mine

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) applauded the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) final determination to approve permanent Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay, blocking the proposed Pebble Mine.

"I applaud the Environmental Protection Agency for taking the necessary steps to ensure Bristol Bay is permanently protected," said Rep. Kilmer. "The Pebble Mine would threaten our fisheries, impacting not only the environment but also our economy. At a time when Washingtonians can't afford a hit to their livelihoods, we need to make sure that we're acting to protect our natural resources and the jobs that depend upon them."

The Pebble Mine is a proposed open-pit mine that would excavate gold, molybdenum sulfite, and copper from 150 square miles of the Bristol Bay watershed. In January 2014, the EPA released a report titled "Assessment of Potential Mining Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems of Bristol Bay, Alaska." The report concluded that allowing a mine in the Bristol Bay Watershed would destroy as many as 94 miles of salmon streams and up to 5,350 acres of wetlands, including important spawning grounds.