As a longtime fisherman, I know how important our salmon fisheries are to the families and businesses around Cook Inlet. That's why the Kenai Area Fisherman's Coalition (KAFC) - a group of scientists and concerned users - opposes development of PacRim Coal's Chuitna coal strip mine project.
PacRim Coal LLC, a Delaware-based corporation, wants to build the massive Chuitna coal strip mine in Upper Cook Inlet, just 45 miles southwest of Anchorage. Among other things, this project would be the first project in the state's history to mine directly through 11 miles of active salmon spawning habitat. As a result, we are greatly concerned about the threats to Cook Inlet water quality and fish and game habitat posed by the proposed strip mine.
The company is in the process of securing state and federal permits. It holds leases on 20,571 acres thought to contain an estimated 1 billion metric tons of sub-bituminous coal. PacRim officials plan to excavate as much as 12 million metric tons of coal annually, enough to fill more than 116,500 railroad coal cars. Roughly speaking, that's equivalent to a train stretching from Anchorage to Juneau and back again.
If PacRim develops the entire lease area -- which is likely once costly infrastructure is installed -- this project could last 50 years or more, and would strip more than 30 square miles of important fish and game habitat in Upper Cook Inlet.
Once PacRim strips the coal from the site, it will rely on a 12-mile long conveyor to transport the coal to the shores of Cook Inlet, where a 2-mile-long dock would load giant cargo vessels destined for Asian markets.
We have serious concerns about the impacts this project will likely have on Cook Inlet fish and game resources, including:
* Strip mining through watersheds: The project site includes a vast expanse of undeveloped wetlands that support healthy populations of fish, wolves, moose, bear and other wildlife. Coursing through it are several active salmon spawning streams that feed the Chuitna River and support Upper Cook Inlet salmon populations. Strip mining and associated development will unravel the unique functions and values of this natural system, and threaten the valuable fish and game resources that rely on them.
* Destroying salmon streams: As currently proposed, this would be the first project in Alaska allowed to mine directly through an active salmon spawning region. As a result, the Chuitna coal strip mine represents a monumental precedent in Alaska. Reclaiming salmon streams in the complex environment found in the Chuitna area would be virtually impossible; in fact, we are not aware of any successful reclamation projects involving salmon stream reconstruction in an environment similar to that found near Beluga and Tyonek
* Polluting water: PacRim's plans also call for dumping an average of 7 million gallons of polluted mine waste and runoff per day into the Chuitna River watershed and Upper Cook Inlet. That's more than 2.5 billion gallons a year directly into Cook Inlet salmon habitat. Because the Chuitna River is a relatively low-flow system, it's highly likely these discharges will adversely affect fisheries in the area.
* Risking oil spills: To ship the coal overseas, PacRim will rely on a major coal storage and export facility to support deep-draft vessels destined for Asia. This complex would not only be located in fish migration areas, but also in one of the most unforgiving navigational environments in the United States. As a result, there is a considerable risk of oil spills and other casualties.
* Mercury contamination: Chuitna's coal would be burned in Asian power plants and mercury from those plants would end up back here in Alaska. As many people know, the state of Alaska announced in 2007 and again this year elevated mercury levels in Alaska fish.
We believe the coal strip mine is a poor example of forward-thinking development, and one that will put at great risk sustainable fish populations that already support Cook Inlet's thriving fish-based economy.
Outside investors shipping Alaska coal to overseas markets won't serve Alaskans. The expected tax revenues would be small compared to the value of our fisheries, and because Usibelli Coal Mine now supplies all the coal Alaska burns, none of that coal would contribute to Alaska's energy needs.
Dwight Kramer is chairman of the Kenai Area Fisherman's Coalition. The coalition is a private angler group with nearly 200 members from throughout the Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska.
BY DWIGHT KRAMER