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Complaints About EPA Dominate Bristol Bay Mining Meeting

June 04, 2012|By Jason Lamb | Channel 2 News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Hundreds of people showed up to an EPA meeting Monday night about the impact of mining on Bristol Bay salmon.

Along with the arguments both for and against the proposed Pebble Mine project were several complaints to the EPA and the federal government for how it's handling its investigation of how mining might impact the salmon, centered around a report released last month.

Some argued that people needed more time to understand all the information in the huge report.  Others were upset that the first meeting about the Alaska issue took place in Seattle.

Some said the EPA needed to take its hands out of the issue entirely, saying oversight of mining in Alaska is the state's responsibility.

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"The project in question is on state land designated for mining," said Rachael Petro with the Alaska state Chamber of Commerce.  "Alaska's permitting and regulatory systems are the best in the United States."

"I think if we allow this to go forward, as Alaskans, whether you're for or against Pebble mine, we're setting a very dangerous precedent," said state Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage.

The EPA has scheduled six more public hearings across the state.  Tuesday the EPA will be headed to both Dillingham and Naknek.

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