Last week, the Ports and Harbors committee discussed an item innocently titled “Lutak Dock Rebuild.” Yukon mining representatives testified regarding their “needs” for shipping ore through Haines. As more Yukon mines come on line, there could be enough ore to fill numerous ships, each one holding 2,500 containers-worth. That’s a 24/7 continuous stream of loud, hazardous trucks. Even just six ships would mean 15,000 trucks, or 30,000 round trips. Awaiting transport, containers of ore concentrate would be stored in Lutak Inlet, a geohazard/landslide/tsunami zone. Fishing, tourism, property values, and our quality of life would all be impacted. Contamination would be inevitable.
Our representatives are supposed to represent our needs, not multinational corporations. Our community has made it clear that we don’t want an industrial ore port. After going through a yearslong public process, we settled on a plan that would simply rebuild the Lutak dock for safety. Instead, borough grant applications include references to ore shipping, the Ports and Harbors committee is meeting with Yukon mine representatives, and the four-phase plan paves the way for an ore terminal. The borough maintains they’re not planning an ore terminal. Ore transport by any other name is still a toxic hazard.
When 90% of local people rely on subsistence foods to feed their families, clean water and healthy salmon are our shared wealth. A mine haul road doesn’t belong in our borough. Neither does an industrial ore port.
We will not embrace Yukon mines.
Jessica Plachta, Lynn Canal Conservation executive director