An appeal filed in the Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage challenges a state decision denying a citizen group’s request to reserve water in streams in the Chuitna watershed to protect wild salmon habitat on the west side of Cook Inlet in Southcentral Alaska.
The Chuitna Citizens Coalition filed the appeal on Sept. 27, challenging the decision of state Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack.
PacRim Coal LP, a Delaware-based corporation owned by the Texas-based energy company Petro-Hunt LLC, advised the state in late March 2017 that it was suspending permitting efforts after an investment effort failed.
The project as proposed would have been the largest strip mine in Alaska, with PacRim planning to sell sub-bituminous coal in Asian markets. Development of the coal prospect would have included destruction of a salmon stream in the area of the mine.
The Chuitna Citizens Coalition continued, however, to seek protection of the salmon habitat in the area where the coal mine would have been, since the coal itself could still be developed, depending on the price of coal on world markets and receipt of permits.
When Mack issued a new decision in late August denying the coalition’s request to keep water in the streams, they opted to pursue further legal action.
“It’s just not fair,” said Ron Burnett, president of the coalition. “The state says mining companies can get rights to take water out of streams permanently, but regular citizens can’t get rights to keep water in our streams for fish. That’s plain wrong.”
The case dates back over nine years, when the coalition filed a petition to get what is called an “instream flow water reservation” to keep water in streams in the Chuitna watershed because of their concern that the large proposed coal mine would destroy salmon habitat. In 2015, the natural resources agency granted the coalition an instream flow right. Mining, oil and gas corporations appealed that decision and the case languished until Mack issued his decision denying the coalition’s request.
Mack is standing by his decision, on grounds that he had to consider what was in the public interest and if there was a need to issue an instream flow water reservation. The land is owned by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, which back in 1956 was granted 1 million acres of land from Congress to generate income for a comprehensive mental health program. In 1984 in a class action lawsuit ruling, the Alaska Supreme Court determined that the state breached its fiduciary responsibility to manage trust lands. Then in 1994, in a final settlement, the trust was reconstituted with $200 million and 1 million acres of land.
Mack said that on balance what he wanted to do with the decision was to allow, if an opportunity arose, for the trust to meet its obligations.
“The chances of a coal mine being developed (in the near term there are not high,” Mack said. “People are not pounding down our door looking for coal in Alaska.”
Still, he said he had to consider the fact that the trust owned the land.
The state is willing to issue instream flow reservations even in the face of another alternative use of the water, and has done so, previously issuing four such permits to The Nature Conservancy downstream from the proposed site of the copper gold and molybdenum mine that the Pebble Limited Partnership has proposed to build, he said.
