The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation made what environmental and tribal groups called a “mixed” decision on an appeal about a wastewater permit for a mining exploration project 35 miles north of Haines.
The administrative appeal decision on the Palmer Project upholds Constantine Metals’ permit to discharge water into the area above the Klehini River, but it ruled the DEC had violated its own rules in establishing pollutant limits for Glacier Creek, a tributary of the Klehini.
In its permit application, the company proposed building a tunnel more than a mile long at the base of a mountain below the Saksaia Glacier to access minerals. The work would result in pollutants including heavy metals and acids, which the company said wouldn’t make it into the creek, something a coalition of environmental and tribal groups disputed.
“We are disappointed DEC has upheld a dangerous and inadequate waste management permit that allows polluted water to be released onto our traditional lands and into waters that sustain our way of life,” said Chilkat Indian Village Vice President Jones P. Hotch, Jr. in a press release from Earthjustice, one of the groups that represented the tribe.
The Palmer Project is a proposed copper, zinc, gold, silver and barite mine in the mountains above the Klehini River about 13 miles away from Klukwan. Proponents say developing the mine could bring revenue and jobs to the borough, while opponents say it risks the health of the Chilkat River watershed, a productive salmon spawning area.
The Palmer Project is still in the exploration phase, and is years away from becoming a working mine, if it ever does. In an unsigned emailed response, Constantine called the decision “fair.”
Constantine wrote that the decision “won’t cause any delay in our work plan as the project is currently in the advanced exploration and evaluation stage and far from any potential mine construction decision.”
Constantine wrote that the permiting process “has been guided by Constantine’s unwavering commitment to minimizing environmental impact while conducting thorough exploration and assessment studies.”
In the Aug. 18 decision, the judge ruled that the DEC failed to meet its own rules in setting baseline data for how many pollutants are flowing through Glacier Creek, since it tested the water in the fall, when most pollutants are flowing through the water.
“The state acknowledged that it violated its own rules in terms of implementing the state water quality standards,” Shannon Donahue, who works for the environmental group Rivers Without Borders, told KHNS.
But the judge dismissed other arguments the coalition had made, including that the DEC hadn’t accounted for winter conditions like avalanches and freezing water, and that toxic wastewater would likely reach Glacier Creek. It also dismissed a request that Constantine go through the more stringent federal Clean Water Act process before continuing with tunnel construction.
The tribe and environmental groups say they’re considering their next steps, which could include a lawsuit in state Superior Court. The decision said the results from the new water survey required by the decision could be appealed.
The permit was originally issued in 2019, but faced immediate challenges from a coalition of Klukwan and several environmental groups.
The final challenge was heard last month in front of an administrative law judge and Jason Brune, the DEC commissioner who resigned Aug. 20. Appellants raised concerns with letting Brune be involved with the decision, arguing he had a conflict of interest since he was judging his own agency. Brune previously worked to advance the proposed Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska before working for the state. The judge overruled that concern, and Brune ultimately signed the decision that ordered his agency to do more work to establish pollutant baselines.