Dear Jessica Plachta:
I do not know the details of your grandfather’s mine that became a Superfund site. Thanks to efforts of folks like you, chances are that a mine like the one your grandfather worked at could not be built today. Since those days, legislation such as the Clean Water Act has generated very strict rules that ensure that mining is safer than those old days. I have also read Dr. Power’s report. It is unfortunate that he focuses only on negative effects, and he also assumes there is a direct link between mining and these social ills. Could the people he describes not be miners, but hucksters attracted to a thriving economic area? Soapy Smith was not a miner, but he caused lots of trouble. It is also unfortunate that he did not list the positive social benefits we know of in Alaska – places like Juneau, Healy, Fairbanks and right here in Haines where over 20 miners live and positively affect our shared social fabric.
I know they love to hunt and fish and would not tolerate damaging those resources.
Richard Clement