The Haines Borough forwarded borough manager Debra Schnabel’s letter to the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requesting a 30-day extension to comment on two Constantine Metal Resources permits.
The permits would regulate blasting a one-mile tunnel into mountainside 35 miles upstream from Haines for more extensive and year-round drilling access.
The month-long public comment period for a waste management permit and reclamation plan otherwise ended on May 15, unless DNR extends it.
“This schedule may be sufficient for private organizations, but local governments need additional time to ensure comments are vetted in a public arena,” Schnabel wrote. “We also have heard from Haines residents concerned about the short timeline for comments.”
At Tuesday’s assembly meeting, more than 15 residents beseeched the assembly to “at best, withdraw and re-submit (the permit), and at the very least, extend (the) period of time to comment.”
The project requires a waste management permit from DNR and a reclamation plan.
The 16-foot diameter tunnel will create 70,000 cubic meters of waste rock, Constantine’s spokesperson Liz Cornejo said in a public presentation on May 6.
The groundwater that drains from the tunnel will be diverted into two settling ponds that, combined, are the size of an Olympic swimming pool, Cornejo said. After sediment settles from the water, the wastewater will be released back into the ground through perforated pipes.
Residents asking the borough to request a delay for the permit said it lacks necessary information, and that there’s not enough time to read the application’s 2,000 pages to respond within the comment period.
Residents raised questions about avalanche danger in the proposed area, groundwater seepage into Hangover Creek (30 feet away from the lower underground diffuser), and management of monitoring ground water and mitigating pipe freeze in winter, when the system will likely be buried in snow.
“The permit application for a waste management system is incomplete without a plan for dealing with winter conditions, large amounts of snowfall, and the nearly constant threat of avalanches,” Takshanuk Watershed Council scientist Derek Poinsette wrote in a letter to borough staff on May 11.
On May 10, the borough hired an environmental consultant, costing a maximum of $5,000, to address questions developed by public facilities director Brad Ryan, who has a background in fisheries biology.
Owl Ridge Natural Resource Consultants’ Enrique Fernandez conducted a cursory review of the permit application and added some of Ryan’s comments into a four-page document.
On May 13, borough staff met with Constantine to review questions, including what Fernandez said was insufficient water balance information, seasonal fluctuations and a contingency plan for potential fuel spills, among other concerns.
“Almost all of the questions had an answer associated with them,’ Ryan said of the meeting with Constantine. “Many were satisfactory.”
If DNR does not grant an extension, the letter asks it refer to Fernandez’ assessment as the borough’s official comments.
On Tuesday, Constantine responded in writing to consultant’s document.
Ryan said his concerns on Constantine’s dealings with potentially acid-generating rock (PAG) were answered. “Waste rock characterization completed to date indicated waste rock is non-PAG and has low metal-leaching potential,” Fernandez wrote. He said that “the risk of Acid Rock Drainage and metal leaching is low.”
However, the report noted, the project only has 10 months of tests that determine the rate of acid generation. “These tests are generally conducted over multiple years and much testing remains to fully characterize potential effects of the waste rock.”
Constantine’s response said that acid- base accounting studies show that 100 percent of waste rock samples in the area show non-acid generating “and most of them are strongly acid neutralizing.” “These rocks could be used anywhere for any construction purpose without posing a risk to the environment.”
The consultant wrote that the permit does not consider environmental factors that may reduce storage capacity in the settling ponds. He said that the presence of faults and fracture zones in the area, and factors such as snow drifts, icing and sediment require a greater storage volume in the settling ponds.
Constantine responded that it estimates a peak flow from the tunnel at 200 gallons per minute. The design assumes extremely fine solids, though coarser solids would be treated at a rate of 500 gallons per minute. The piping and lower diffuser are capable of discharging up to 800 gallons per minute, the report writes.
Cornejo said Constantine was unable to answer some of the consultant’s questions that had to do with Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regulations including groundwater monitoring locations and quarterly sampling requirements within a five-year permitted application. “Other questions were related to why is DEC requiring certain stipulations, timeframes limits and regulatory requirements,” Cornejo said. “Some of those questions we re-directed over to DEC to explain why they think the data is sufficient or met regulations.”
If an extension is allowed, the borough would continue outreach to local organizations and Constantine to refine Fernandez’s comments, the letter states.
Cornejo said that, if the extension is granted, she hopes the borough uses the time effectively. “I do hope that everyone enters into the extension with a good-faith attitude to reach a mutual benefit for everyone involved,” she said.
Assembly member Heather Lende proposed an amendment to the letter, which passed 4-1 (assembly member Brenda Josephson was absent) to remove language she said took a stance that was “a big leap from where we are right now.”
Lende moved to remove sentences that stated, “The Borough’s desire is that active participation will contribute to a project that is safe, environmentally friendly and beneficial to the Borough’s economy,” and, “Our intention is to build a permit that will have the necessary controls to grow the community’s confidence that the current exploration will be an asset to the citizens of the Borough.”
Assembly member Tom Morphet said the borough has to be careful to not represent Haines either in favor of or opposed to the project. “Quite frankly, we don’t know where the public is on this issue,” he said. “The public who’s weighed in on this issue by and far has a lot more questions and wants more time to be clear on these things.”
Assembly member Sean Maidy opposed the changes, staying that removing the “fluff” language made the letter sound punitive. “It removes all the heart,” he said. “I feel that it reads a little easier to someone who’s expecting a harsh letter and if you remove it all it’s going to read like a list of demands. I know they are a list of demands but it doesn’t mean we have to be rough about it.”