EPA Shuts Off Major Chunk of Alaska to Mining Before Proposal Even Submitted

Posted by Jim Hoft
May 19, 2012, 6:08 PM

Gateway Pundit:

The EPA is now blocking US mining and manufacturing before proposals are even submitted.

The proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska (Yahoo)

The EPA Is Annexing Alaska

The EPA released a scientific study of the Bristol Bay watershed and its natural resources on Friday. The report is an attempt by the EPA to preemptively veto the Pebble Mine in Alaska because it could potentially affect the local water.
The AP reported:

The possible failure of a dam holding waste from a large-scale mine near the headwaters of one of the world’s premier salmon fisheries in Alaska could wipe out or degrade rivers and streams in the region for decades, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a draft watershed assessment released Friday.

EPA regional administrator Dennis McLerran said there was a fairly low risk of that occurring, however, and the more likely impact would be direct loss of habitat from the mining activity itself.

The report responded to concerns about a large copper-and-gold prospect near the headwaters of Bristol Bay. It is a draft, with a final report that could affect permitting decisions perhaps due by the end of the year after public comment and peer review.

Kevin at Wizbang added this on the EPA’s job-killing agenda.

The groundwork they’re laying implies that any building or project that could potentially impact water can be killed by the EPA without the project ever going through the permitting process, and without input from state, local, or other federal agencies. This in itself is a jobs and economy killer.

They want us all in mud huts.

Related… The Pebble Mine, which is not even proposed yet, will require permits from at least 67 state and federal agencies according to the site owners, yet Democrats wants the project spiked before any environmental review is even done.