Submitted by nelli_williams on Tue, 2014-10-21 21:41 Save Bristol Bay Vote Up Down +2 + ben.jpg Travis Rummel holding a rainbow trout while shooting footage for "Red Gold" in Bristol Bay. Photo by Ben Knight By Jenny Lynes A lot has happened this summer on the Bristol Bay front. We wanted to provide a brief update for those of you who want to know the latest! Under authority granted in the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its recommendation to limit large-scale mining of the Pebble deposit in Bristol Bay in mid-July. That announcement launched a 60-day public comment and six public hearings were held across the Bristol Bay region with one additional hearing in Anchorage. Making our desires for a protected Bristol Bay perfectly clear, Alaskans submitted more than four times the number of public comments than during the last comment period. This August, a tailings dam failed at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia, sending tons of toxic waste downriver and worrying Bristol Bay residents about the potential for a similar spill to occur in their watershed, as the failed tailings dam was designed by the same company contracted by the Pebble Limited Partnership, and was formerly regarded as an example of the safety of modern mining. We are now awaiting the EPA’s review of the 650,000+ comments that were submitted across the US, and for the EPA’s release of its Recommended Determination. Early reviews of the total comments listed in the online docket show pro-protection comments outnumbering pro-Pebble comments 99 to 1. Great work! TU Alaska will continue to monitor the progress and push back on any attempts to delay strong protections for Bristol Bay. Want more information? Check out some articles, blog posts and videos published on the effort over the summer: The Numbers Continue to Crunch the Pebble Mine, Huffington Post blog Experiencing it is Everything: one lucky man’s trip to Bristol Bay, Save Bristol Bay blog Video: A Plea from Bristol Bay, Save Bristol Bay blog Voices from Bristol Bay: Melanie Brown, Save Bristol Bay blog One Step Closer to Bristol Bay Relief, World Fishing News EPA’s 404 c Comment Period is Closed, KDLG EPA holds another hearing in Dillingham on Pebble, Bristol Bay Times EPA gets earful on Pebble Mine, KTOO Mine waste spill in Canada puts Southeast Alaska fishermen on edge, Alaska Dispatch News EPA proposes limits on Alaska’s Pebble Mine project, Washington Post