Murkowski Flaps Gums, Claims She'll Use Appropriations To Block Pebble Mine

[hatrack]

Sen. Lisa Murkowski issued her strongest objection to date against the Pebble Mine project, a proposed mining site of copper, gold and molybdenum near the ecologically sensitive Bristol Bay, pledging to use the federal appropriations process to protect the region.

Speaking virtually at a convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives on Thursday, Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, said she would use spending legislation to protect Bristol Bay, home to the world's biggest salmon run and one of its largest commercial fisheries. She is also chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "I simply think that this is the wrong mine in the wrong place," Murkowski said. "We need longer-term protections for the region that can also provide enduring value for Alaskans."

Murkowski submitted language in the fiscal 2020 Interior-Environment spending bill that directed the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a more rigorous environmental assessment of the project's risks. "I plan to build on my appropriations language from last year to make sure that the Bristol bay region remains protected," she said Thursday.

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Congress has funded the government through Dec. 11, leaving about three weeks for lawmakers to pass fiscal 2021 appropriations legislation before the new Congress begins. Murkowski's committee leadership would depend on Republicans retaining control of the Senate after the November elections.

Ed. So there's that. Please see below for Pebble executives' take on the suddenly courageous Senator Murkowski.

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https://www.rollcall.com/2020/10/16/murkowski-says-shell-use-appropriations-to-block-alaskan-mine/

Pebble CEO Tom Collier thought he was talking to a pair of potential investors in the Pebble Mine, a controversial project at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. Collier told the pair they don’t have to worry about Alaska’s U.S. senators blocking the project. Lisa Murkowski had expressed concerns that the mine proposal did not meet environmental standards, but Collier said she’s just trying to satisfy constituents on both sides of the issue.

“The way that Sen. Murkowski has done that is that when she’s asked a question she says things that don’t sound supportive of Pebble, OK?” Collier said in a video conference call that was secretly recorded on Aug. 24. “But when it comes time to vote, when it comes time to do something, she never does anything to hurt Pebble. Never.”

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The Aug. 24 call took place the same day Murkowski and Dan Sullivan put out their most definitive statement to date against the mine. The senators said they agreed with federal regulators that Pebble should not get its federal permit. But in another call, on Sept. 17, Collier told the “investors” the senators had misread the regulators and are now too embarrassed to admit they thought the permit was being denied, so they’re not saying anything.

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Murkowski responded late Monday night. “Let me be clear: I did not misunderstand the Army Corps’ recent announcement,” she said by email. “I am not ‘embarrassed’ by my statement on it and I will not be ‘quiet in the corner.’ I am dead set on a high bar for large-scale resource development in the Bristol Bay watershed. The reality of this situation is the Pebble project has not met that bar and a permit cannot be issued to it.”

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https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/09/21/pebble-execs-tell-investors-murkowski-and-sullivan-are-no-barrier-to-controversial-mine/

[2naSalit]

1. This info needs to be heard 'round the world.

K&R.