Verner Wilson III, senior oceans campaigner for Friends of the Earth and a member of Curyung Tribal Council in Bristol Bay, Alaska issued the following statement in response:

Pebble Mine will harm Bristol Bay’s environment and devastate the indigenous communities that rely on the area’s rich natural resources. The wild sockeye salmon population could be destroyed and local economies ruined, while corporate polluters rake in millions in profit.

Instead of listening to the people and to scientific experts, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Trump Administration are barreling forward with this climate and community-destroying project. We urge Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and their colleagues in the House to hold the Army Corps of Engineers accountable for failing to protect Bristol Bay’s people and environment over greedy corporate interests.

Contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, ejensen@foe.org

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Marcie Keever, legal director for Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement in response:

This is another blatant attack on one of our bedrock environmental laws. Trump’s ongoing giveaways to Big Oil, Big Mining, Big Ag and other extractive, toxic industries are a threat to everything we hold dear. The Trump Administration is using the cover of a health crisis to cater to corporate polluters’ desires instead of protecting Americans. We will continue to fight this Administration’s use of a pandemic to trash our communities and the environment.

Contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, ejensen@foe.org

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Verner Wilson III, senior oceans campaigner for Friends of the Earth and a member of Curyung Tribal Council in Bristol Bay, Alaska released the following statement in response:

Pebble Mine would be an environmental disaster and would devastate the indigenous communities that rely on the area’s rich natural resources. This dangerous mine threatens Bristol Bay, which provides around half of the world’s wild sockeye salmon, and the local economies that depend on those fish and other wildlife.

It is disappointing to see the EPA shamefully ignore the tens of thousands of Americans who overwhelmingly oppose this dangerous project. Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and their colleagues in Congress must hold the USACE and the EPA accountable for failing to protect Bristol Bay’s people and environment.

Contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, ejensen@foe.org

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Verner Wilson III, senior oceans campaigner for Friends of the Earth and a member of Curyung Tribe in Bristol Bay, Alaska released the following statement in response:

Pebble Mine would be an environmental disaster and would devastate the indigenous communities that rely on Bristol Bay’s rich natural resources. This dangerous mine threatens Bristol Bay, which provides around half of the world’s wild sockeye salmon, and the local economies that depend on those fish and other wildlife.

We are grateful to the House of Representatives for listening to the people of Bristol Bay and Alaska who overwhelmingly oppose this disastrous project. Senator Murkowski and the entire Senate should follow the lead of the House, and pass this amendment to protect Bristol Bay’s people and environment.

Contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, ejensen@foe.org

The post House passes amendment to halt disastrous Pebble Mine appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Pebble Mine threatened Alaska’s Bristol Bay, home to one of the largest and last remaining wild salmon populations in the world. Should the project move forward, the mine could generate more than 10 billion tons of dangerous waste, wipe out 90 miles of salmon streams and pollute more than 5,000 acres of wetlands, ponds and lakes.

Over 40,000 Friends of the Earth members took action to oppose the mine.

In response, Verner Wilson, Senior Oceans Campaigner at Friends of the Earth and a member of the Curyung Tribe in Bristol Bay, issued the following statement:

By pulling out of the agreement to finance Pebble Mine, First Quantum Minerals finally listened to the overwhelming opposition from the people of Bristol Bay and throughout Alaska. The company’s decision to back out of Pebble Mine is a great victory for people and the planet.

Pebble Mine would be an environmental disaster. This project is a financial blackhole. Four major mining companies, including Anglo-American, Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi, and now, First Quantum Minerals, have rejected financing for the project. It’s time for the Trump Administration to step up and also reject Pebble Mine which is too risky for Bristol Bay’s world-class fisheries and the many communities who depend on the rich natural resources of the region.

Standing alongside the local communities, Friends of the Earth will continue to fight Pebble Mine until the project is scrapped.

Expert contact: Verner Wilson III, (907) 360-8591, VWilson@foe.org
Communications contact: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, pdavis@foe.org

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