Posted on 11/26/2014 2:06:16 PM PST by PROCON
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from taking action against a massive Alaska mining project that the agency says could be catastrophic for the best run of wild salmon remaining on the planet.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
No, the EPA dishonest and corrupt?
Nixon’s Revenge,, The EPA.
>> Nixon’s Revenge, The EPA.
The canonical “executive order from hell”.
Wasn’t Nixon’s EPA E.O. every bit as unconstitutional as Obama’s Amnesty?
Why do (and did) we let Presidents get away with that stuff?
“Why do (and did) we let Presidents get away with that stuff?”
Because the old media wanted it, that is why. You don’t really believe the Congress and President hold the real power, do you? The real power has been in the media for decades.
They decide what is important and what is not, what issues matter in a campaign and which do not, and whether a politicians actions are worth investigating or not.
Watergate was a media coup.
No, it really wasn’t an EOmand it nothing at all like what Obastard did.
Congress recognized the huge problem of environmental issues in late 1969 by passing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This statute recast the government’s role from a conservator of wilderness to a protector of earth, air, land, and water. Nixon signed it 1/1/70. NEPA directed the President to assemble in his Cabinet a Council on Environmental Quality.
Nixon worked with his Council and then submitted “Reorganization Plan No. 3” to Congress 7/9/70 which combined the work of many separate agencies into the new EPA (three federal Departments, three Bureaus, three Administrations, two Councils, one Commission, one Service, and many diverse offices). Aside — the same reorg plan created NOAA.
The EPA was cleared through hearings in the Senate and House of Representatives in the summer of 1970. The House Government Operations Subcommittee on Executive and Legislative Reorganization, chaired by Congressman Chet Holifield of California, met in July and August. The Senate Government Operations Subcommittee on Executive Reorganization and Government Research, chaired by Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut met in July. Both subcommittees approved Nixon’s proposal and issued reports in September. The EPA opened December 2, 1970.
They decide what is important and what is not, what issues matter in a campaign and which do not, and whether a politicians actions are worth investigating or not.
Watergate was a media coup.
Well done. I suppose if I was doing a 'redo' on America, media heads would be elected positions. TV, movies, radio, cable, paper news... if you had a conglomerate, you'd have to be elected to head it up.
Thanks. Didn’t know. Was a clueless kid at the time.
I live in a small town in Alaska. We are not tree huggers up here. The entire economy of the region is based on commercial fishing. No fish=no jobs. Period. In addition to the commercial aspects, most Alaskans rely to some degree or other on subsistence fishing to feed their families. The Pebble mine is overwhelmingly opposed by the people who actually live here. This is a classic case of government willing to destroy the local economy and way of life to enrich well connected business interests.
Wild caught salmon already retails for over twenty dollars a pound. Any damage to the Alaskan salmon runs would cause prices to skyrocket not only on salmon but also on halibut, pollock, shrimp and other commercial species. The Pebble mine would certainly cause huge damage to the fisheries, cost tens of thousands of jobs, put countless small outfits to go under and put substantial upward pressure on the already high cost of living in Alaska. It could wipe out whole towns that depend on the sea for their livelyhood. All for the sake of enriching the already rich.
Why do (and did) we let Presidents get away with that stuff?
A very interesting question.
We were raising families.
We were busy in Church.
We were working.
We only were interested every two years.
Many folks were out of state and out of country for work, making the logistics for voting somewhat difficult.
We trusted but failed to verify.
No state oversight of the congress due to ratification of the seventeenth amendment to the Constitution.
No understanding whatsoever of the Constitution of the United States of America, and what it specifically allows the Federal Government to do.
Too much cash flowing to DEE CEE with no control from the States. No money earned within the borders of any sovereign state should go directly to Washington without passing through the State Department of Revenue, to insure that states are solvent and self supporting before remitting funds to the Fed.
IOW withholding should be called unconstitutional and federal taxes remitted to the states before being sent to the IRS after review of the state budget. Both State and Federal budgets must be balanced every year.
The list could be endless, but in keeping with all Bills before the Congress being no more than two pages long, this bill must conform.
My Alaskan family and friends say the same thing. Fish over mining...cuz fishing is what drives the economies of many of the local Alaskan villages/communities.
These folks are anything but liberal tree huggers. But they all want to protect the water and wildlife areas so they can continue to fish...for profit and for sustenance.
Salmon and the other fish are more valuable and self-sustaining.
The mine and mining jobs last for a few moments in time...
Sir, I spent a good part of my 2014 summer on the Yukon (in Canada) and this summer I will spend 3-4 months between Eagle and Emmonak. I’m in a 21’ Duckworth not a Kayak as I am by myself.
I do this because I love all things Alaska even though I live in Texas. So, the Pebble mine concerns me but I’ve fought the EPA and environmentalists for 40 plus years as a developer in Central Texas. I endured 3 jury trials on one silly issue just several years back. The jury (liberals all) ruled in my favor all 3 times so the City finally gave up. So, bottom line, for good reason, I do not believe anything the EPA says or any environmental group.
So, coming back down to earth, I do see things that do bother me like 104 miles of roads just to get stuff to and from the mine.
So, my couple questions of you are: What mineral is being mined? Who is paying for 104 miles of road? Are the roads really necessary....meaning can the mine function some other way? Who indeed IS the legal owner of the mine? Is there a trust fund being discussed to restore the damage (eyesore in pristine area) done by the mine when it inevitably closes? Will the minerals be taxed locally? If so how much? Is the 104 mile long road going to be permitted for use by the public?
..........yes, not knowing whether you would respond I went to Wiki and got all my questions answered.
Thanks. I still have mixed feelings about it though. The developers “claim” they will restore everything and allude to the zero loss policy (re the fish) they have committed to but developers (businessmen) can be greedy too so I am ambivalent on what they say too. Minimally, the restoration fund money over the years and decades needs to not wash through the hands of the developers.
Bottom line: I’m just going to start paying a little more attention to the issue. I have a business woman friend who lives over in the Ninilchik area which is 126 miles away as the crow flies. I will email her soon and see what she thinks. She is very opinionated and like most Alaskans very protective of the environment. I respect her a lot so if she says “not no but hell no” then I will start leaning west and facing north. I will try and let you know what she says.
Just Google Earthing around the mine though we see some gorgeous untouched scenery and one can’t help but wish the mine would go away but without “stealing” someone else’s property like government at all levels does every day.
Any truth to the rumor, the SKY IS FALLING????
"Wild caught salmon already retails for over twenty dollars a pound."
That (the quoted price of salmon) and $2.75 will get you a ride on the New York Subway.
Please do make sure to update the people @ "http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=fish," obviously they haven't been dazzled by your brilliance, {I call Bravo Sierra} or in this case the lack their of.
Pebble Mine is the common name of a mineral exploration of a very large, but relatively low grade copper - gold - molybdenum sulfide deposit, along with smaller yields of silver, palladium and rhenium in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. If built, Pebble would be one of the largest mines in the world. Because of its size, geochemistry and location, Pebble runs a high risk of polluting Bristol Bay, one of the world’s few and most productive wild salmon fisheries.
The proposed mine developers, the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) was a consortium of the world’s second largest multinational mining corporation, London-based Anglo American, along with Northern Dynasty, a junior mining company headquartered in Canada. Anglo American’s environmental track record does not bode well for Bristol Bay and Northern Dynasty has little experience safeguarding the environment having never developed a mine to date. Recently, however, Anglo American backed out of the project leaving Northenr Dynasty the only member. Although PLP has not released its final mine plans, preliminary designs indicate that the Pebble Mine complex would span 20 square miles of state land in the Bristol Bay watershed. Located in a seismically active region, Pebble would require the world’s largest earthen dam to be built, some 700 feet high and several miles in length. Independent scientists have questioned whether the dam could withstand the force of a massive earthquake, such as the 9.2 quake that devastated Anchorage in 1964.
The dam and 10-square-mile-wide containment pond are intended to hold between 2.5 billion and 10 billion tons of mine waste that Pebble would produce over its lifetime - nearly enough to bury the city of Seattle, WA. Because the sulfide, or acid-generating, nature of the Pebble ore body, the waste would require environmental treatment in perpetuity. Any release of mine waste into the surface or groundwater has the potential to harm Bristol Bay’s salmon runs. (From SaveBristolBay.org)
The land is state owned. Funding for the project appears to be private. Rio Tinto, the major investor, has pulled out as has Anglo American. In the few minutes I devoted to the search, I could not find any information on the road other than the vast size of the project and mention of the requirement for a new deep water port, power requirements and additional infrastructure.
I’m leaning west and facing north.
If put to a vote in Alaska, what would the result be in your opinion?
I said "Wild caught Alaska salmon" for which the whole fish, off the boat wholesale price at the cannery here in SE Alaska was near $9.00 a lb this summer. That is what the fishermen get from the processor. One quick Google search yields current internet retail price for:
Kodiak King Salmon at $19.95lb
Kodiak Ivory King Salmon at $22.95lb. plus shipping. (http://www.islandseafoods.com/)
Copper River King Salmon $37.95 lb
Copper River Soickeye Salmon $23.95lb
Kalgin Island King Salmon $28.95 lb
Kalgin Island King filets $29.95 lb
Wild Alaska White King Salmon $29.95 lb
( http://www.great-alaska-seafood.com/fresh-alaska-salmon.htm)
You were saying?
In this town? I don’t think you could find one vote in favor of the Pebble mine. Maybe in Juneau you might scrape up a few. Certainly not in Bristol Bay or Southeast.
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