News in Brief
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SJRes-26, Opposing EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases – was defeated on a vote of 47 to 53. All Republicans and 7 Democrats voted for SJRes-26. It was a great disappointment that Senator Begich was one of the 53 that voted against this “Resolution of Disapproval” [would prevent EPA from using the Clean Air Act to write climate change regulations]. We sent another letter to Senator Begich on June 8, 2010 again urging him to vote for SJRes-26. In it we quoted from the New York Times “The White House agrees with supporters of the resolution that comprehensive legislation on energy and climate change is preferable to a bureaucratic mandate. But it wants to keep the authority in place in case Congress fails to act and as a precedent for future rule-making on environmental matters.” AMA emphasis. Exactly what other rule-making the EPA has in mind we do not know. Other letters sent supporting SJRes-26 included: a joint letter from 21 governors; a NAMA/ASRC joint letter; a ConocoPhillips letter; Anchorage Assembly unanimous resolution; Fairbanks Mayor Terry Strle letter.
EPA Endangerment Finding Needed Due to Deepwater Horizon? – Senator Murkowski took issue with the administration, “The administration and opponents of the disapproval resolution know they're losing the argument about the costs of EPA climate regulations. They've trotted out one red herring after another, but trying to link this bipartisan measure to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill sets a new low," Murkowski said. "There is nothing in my resolution that negates fuel economy gains or makes our country more dependent on oil. Falsely linking this effort to the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico is an insult to those impacted by the spill and to the hundreds of stakeholders that are concerned about the economic consequences of EPA's climate regulations. Farmers, manufacturers, small business owners, and Americans from every corner of the country have weighed in to express their support for this resolution. To suggest they are somehow tools of the oil industry for speaking out against the EPA's regulatory overreach is cynical and categorically untrue."
EPAs Tayloring Rule - May 13, 2010, EPA announced its final Tailoring Rule for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Greenhouse Gas (GHG). The Tailoring Rule is the latest in a suite of GHG regulatory actions recently finalized by EPA that subject sources of GHG emissions to CAA requirements.agency published an endangerment finding on Dec. 15, 2009, concluding that carbon dioxide (CO2) and other GHG emissions endanger the public health and welfare by causing and contributing to climate change. EPA will add changes over time: 1) Jan-July 2010 - applies only to sources currently subject to PSD or Title V will be subject to the new rule; 2) For two years beginning July 1, 2011 – new construction with at least 75K tpy of emissions (this is the first time sources will be subject to PSD and Title V solely due to GHG); 3) New rulemaking to be complete by July 1, 2012 on whether include sources <75K tpy and begin a 5-year study small sources.
ANWR Comprehensive Conservation Plan – AMA sent a letter to the USF&WS regarding the ANWR CCP effort. AMA asked that: 1) the 1002 area be opened to development immediately; 2) no new wilderness designations be recommended; 3) the entire planning area be evaluated for its mineral potential; and 4) areas containing strategic minerals and resources be recommended for removal of existing “Wilderness” designation or other restrictions to development.
Great Northwest v Army Corps of Engineers – On June 8, 2010, Judge Beistline ruled that various “wet areas” in Fairbanks separated from navigable waters (the Tanana River) by a flood control levy and a berm are not “waters of the U.S.” and are therefore not subject to Corps of Engineers section 404 permitting. To quote “Great Northwest’s wetlands are not “adjacent” to the Tanana River and therefore fall outside the definition of “waters of the United States” as defined by 33 C.F.R. § 328.3. The wetlands therefore fall outside CWA jurisdiction. Great Northwest’s Motion for Summary Judgment at Docket 18 is GRANTED, and the Army Corps of Engineers’ Motion for Summary Judgment at Docket 21 is DENIED. The oral argument currently set for June 18, 2010, is hereby VACATED.” PLF argued that by the Corps' own regulations, "wetlands adjacent to other wetlands" are categorically exempt from jurisdiction because they lack the requisite nexus to navigable waters. The Corps tried to argue that the wetlands were part of a larger "wetlands complex" that made the Corps’ "adjacent to adjacent" exemption inapplicable.court did not agree.particular wetlands were separated from the Tanana by a berm and thus were also not adjacent or hierologically connected to the Tanana. In fact, the only evidence of a connection was that groundwater can flow from the Tanana to the wetlands - the opposite of what is needed to establish a connection for jurisdictional purposes. Congratulations Pacific Legal Foundation and Travis/Peterson Consulting!!
S.3450, SEC Reporting of MSHA Violations - has been introduced by Senators Rockefeller (D-WVa) and Byrd (D-WVa) requiring that publicly-traded mining companies include serious mine safety violations in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Here’s a good question: If such reporting is required for mining, should it not be required for all publically traded companies?
Polar Bear – USF&WS will held two public hearings in June, to seek comment on the proposal to designate critical habitat for the polar bear and on the Draft Economic Analysis (DEA). Comment deadline on proposal and DEA is 7/6/10. http://www.regulations.gov Docket No. FWS-R7-ES-2009-0042 or Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R7-ES-2009-0042; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
Beluga Whale ESA Listing – the State of Alaska has filed suit challenging the Cook Inlet Beluga ESA Listing.
S.1733, American Power Act – [latest cap & tax climate bill sponsored by Senators Kerry and Lieberman] In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) asked for assurances that any comprehensive climate bill be analyzed thoroughly for its potential economic impacts and specifically requested the Energy Information Administration, as well as the EPA, assess the impacts to give senators confidence in the costs the economy is likely to bear from controlling greenhouse gases.
Senator Reid has said this climate bill will not come to the Senate floor without some Republican support and to date, no Republicans have stepped forward. Senator Kerry argues this bill is a national security imperative, because climate change will inject “a new major source of chaos, tension and human insecurity into an already volatile world.” (“Climate change: The new national security challenge” May 20) As evidence, he reeled off a doomsday list of looming climate crises, including, “more famine and drought, worse pandemics, more natural disasters, more resource scarcity, and staggering human displacement.” On every count, the senator is wrong. Regarding the potential for climate change-induced drought, he got his facts backwards. He wrote that, “Scientists now warn the Himalayan glaciers, which provide fresh water to a billion people in India and Pakistan, will face severe impacts from climate change,” but a recent study published in the Annals of Glaciology suggests the Karakoram glaciers — those in the western Himalayas that feed into the Indus River shared by India and Pakistan — are growing. And the apparent cause is climate change. By William Yeatman, Energy policy analyst, Competitive Enterprise Institute, 5/25/10
DOI Federal Register Review Process – Congressman Young and Senators Murkowski and Begich sent a letter to DOI Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Development Wilma Lewis condemning a department policy that is adding further delays to the permit review process. The BLM Instruction Memorandum No. 2010-043 requires that all non-exempt Federal Register notices be sent to the BLM Washington Office for additional review prior to publication. The letter said the policy was "fraught with redundancy and unnecessary bureaucratic delays" by requiring 14 reviews at separate department offices each time a notice is required. The delegation noted that one international consulting group has already rated the slow U.S. permit review process on par with Papua New Guinea and urged the department to return to "common sense policy." This is adding several months, in some cases five or more months, to simply get a notice published.
Wishbone Hill Coal Exploration Permit Renewal – AMA sent a letter to DNR in support of the renewal of the exploration permit for Wishbone Hill. AMA’s comments addressed the human health studies by Hendryx and others that tried to show that coal mining was a cause of premature death in Appalachia. An analysis by Jonathan Borak, M.D., clinical professor epidemiology and medicine at Yale University, and Catherine Salipante Zaidel, MEM found “factual discrepancies and methodological flaws” in the Hendryx studies. The analysis noted the complete omission of obesity, diabetes and alcohol consumption from the Hendryx studies as possible variables.
Livengood Project – Karl Hanneman has been named Project Manager of the Livengood Project of International Tower Hill Mines (ITH). Congratulations Karl! Separately, ITH announced May 14, 2010 that it will form two companies. Livengood will be the only project in ITH and all other projects will go into Corvus Gold Inc. Corvus will have Chisna, Terra, LMS, and West Pogo in Alaska, and North Bullfrog in Nevada.
ITH’s latest resource estimate (February 28, 1010) was 369 Mt @ 0.78 g/t gold (9.3Moz) (Indicated) and 122 Mt @ 0.77 g/t gold (3.0Moz) (Inferred), both at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade. The Core and Sunshine Zones together account for most of the higher grade mineralization (Indicated 184 Mt at an average grade of 0.98 g/t gold and Inferred 56 Mt at an average grade of 0.99g/t gold, with cut-off grade of 0.70 g/t gold) and will form the basis for starter pit design work. Ongoing metallurgical studies focus on potential use of milling, with a flotation-gravity circuit, showing recoveries of 88%. Test of conventional whole ore milling with a gravity-CIL system produced recoveries of 86%.
Capital Budget – AMA is very disappointed to note that Governor Parnell did not veto the $750,000 appropriation which is a blatant affront to the State permitting system and one more attempt to harass Pebble. This sets a very bad precedence. Does this open the door for a “study” any time some legislator opposes a project? I am not certain whether the RR connection to Point Mackenzie or the Western Alaska Access and Ambler District access study monies survived.
Land Lock-ups - S.3075 introduced by Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Jim Tester (D-MT) would ban new mineral leases on nearly 300,000 acres in the Flathead River Valley near Glacier National Park. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee, pledged swift passage. The bill is supported by the Obama Administration and major environmental groups. Bowing to requests from sponsors, ConocoPhillips announced it would terminate leases for oil and gas development on 169,000 acres in the valley. S.2762, sponsored by Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) would add Wilderness designation to more than 30,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colo, special management designation for an additional 20,000 acres, and ban mining claims on 6,000 acres of the nearby Naturita Canyon.
Coeur Receives Safety Awards - The International Society of Mine Safety Professionals has recognized Coeur with seven national and international safety awards for 2009: Rochester Mine, Lovelock, NV two years and 201,879 hours with “ZERO” accidents to report; Kensington, two years and 218,061 hours worked with no lost time accident; Martha Mine, Gregores, Santa Cruz, Argentina, one year and 424,769 hours worked with no lost time accident; Cerro Bayo Mine, Chile one year and 112,152 hours with “ZERO” accidents to report; South America Exploration four years and 492,366 hours worked with no lost time accident; Exploration, Temoris, Chihuahua, Mexico two years and 124,318 hours with no lost time accident; Argentina Exploration one year and 16,260 employee hours with no lost time accident. Congratulations Coeur!
Minerals Management Service – BLM Director Bob Abbey will now head the Minerals Management Service (MMS) after its chief, Liz Birnbaum, was forced to resign amid criticism of the agency's oversight of offshore drilling. Daily management duties at BLM will be handled by the Deputy Director Mike Poole. Abbey's primary responsibility will be reorganization of MMS, which was split into three separate agencies by secretarial order following the BP spill.
National Security Strategy - The Obama Administration's just-issued National Security Strategy, which replaces a March 2006 document, identifies economic power as the bedrock of national influence and calls for approaching statecraft from a "whole-of-government" perspective as opposed to over-reliance on the military.
AMA comments on Susitna Matanuska Area Plan – AMA notes that for the most part the plan is well done and no new mineral closings are being recommended. AMA recommend that it be specifically stated in the plan that any disposals of mineral and material resources must be assessed with airborne geophysical survey prior to any disposal. AMA also recommended continued use of the existing SHPO process rather than a modified process that would have been problematic.