State Department officials say they are looking into possible approaches to present to Canada on boundary water issues between Alaska and British Columbia at their next meeting in late October.
The State Department meanwhile is actively engaged with Canada on protecting the shared waters, an issue recognized as of significant concern to Alaska, said
Julia Frifield, assistant secretary of legislative affairs for the State Department.
The State Department intends to continue to work, in coordination with other U.S. government agencies, to ascertain what the Canadian federal government is doing to meet U.S. concerns about protecting this sensitive shared ecosystem from potential transboundary pollution during mine development, operation, impoundment design, and post-closure, and through bonding practices,” Frifield said in a letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
At the same time, Canada is undertaking an overall assessment of its federal environmental assessment law and processes, with results expected in early 2017, she said.
Responding to the State Department’s comments on Oct. 14, Murkowski said she was encouraged that the federal agency understands the importance of transboundary water issues to so many Alaskans, and that it is promising to see the State Department show an elevated interest in this topic.
But Murkowski said she was disappointed that the State Department refuses to address suggestions such as to consider appointing a special representative for U.S.-Canada transboundary issues, and the Secretary of State John Kerry has yet to meet directly with Alaskans on this issue.
Frifield noted that a federal government team visited Alaska in August at the invitation of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska to discuss tribal concerns related to mining activities, the potential for environmental harm to rivers and ecosystems in Southeast Alaska, and the importance of this issue to the health, livelihood and culture of tribal communities.
The group included the Consul General in Vancouver, the Department of State’s Director of the Office of Canadian Affairs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Acting Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs, and EPA’s Region 10 administrator.
Frifield noted that some baseline water quality testing has already begun, and that Congress may make additional funding available for that purpose.
The State Department remains in close contact with the state of Alaska and other interested parties and remains committed to identifying the best way forward to resolve shared concerns about risks posed to water quality and livelihoods in Alaska by mining activities in British Columbia, she said.
State efforts to protect the transboundary rivers flowing from British Columbia into Southeast Alaska were prompted by concerns of Southeast Alaska residents who feel that existing and planned mines along the transboundary river watersheds pose a threat to critical salmon habitat.
The statement of cooperation signed by Alaska and British Columbia officials is not binding and has no budget, said Heather Hardcastle, director of Salmon Beyond Borders, a Southeast Alaska campaign focused on protecting those waters from acid mine drainage. Several commercial fishing, tribal and other entities said they need enforceable protections in place in order for them to maintain their way of life.
