I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8193 

To prohibit and restrict certain actions in the Bristol Bay watershed, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2024 

Mrs. PELTOLA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To prohibit and restrict certain actions in the Bristol Bay 

watershed, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bristol Bay Protection 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Pebble Mine project proposes to dis9 charge dredged or fill material into waters of the 


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1 United States, including wetlands, which are subject 

2 to the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. 

3 (2) The discharge of dredged or fill material 

4 into these waters will have unacceptable adverse ef5 fects on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and 

6 fishery areas, wildlife, and recreational areas. 

7 (3) The Administrator of the Environmental 

8 Protection Agency, pursuant to section 404(c) of the 

9 Clean Water Act, has prohibited the specification of 

10 the project area as a disposal site and has deter11 mined that the discharge of dredged or fill material 

12 into these waters will have unacceptable adverse ef13 fects, including— 

14 (A) the loss of approximately 8.5 miles 

15 (13.7 km) of documented anadromous fish 

16 streams; 

17 (B) the loss of approximately 91 miles 

18 (147 km) of additional streams that support 

19 anadromous fish streams; 

20 (C) the loss of approximately 2,108 acres 

21 (8.5 km2) of wetlands and other waters that 

22 support anadromous fish streams; and 

23 (D) adverse impacts on approximately 29 

24 additional miles (46.7 km) of anadromous fish 


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1 streams resulting from greater than 20 percent 

2 changes in average monthly streamflow. 

3 (4) Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed is an area 

4 of unparalleled ecological value, boasting salmon di5 versity and productivity unrivaled anywhere in North 

6 America. 

7 (5) The region’s salmon resources have sup8 ported Alaska Native cultures for thousands of years 

9 and continue to support one of the last intact salm10 on-based cultures in the world. 

11 (6) The Bristol Bay watershed’s largely undis12 turbed aquatic habitats and productive salmon popu13 lations create this globally significant ecological and 

14 cultural resource. 

15 (7) People in the Bristol Bay region rely on 

16 subsistence resources to provide high-quality foods, 

17 foster a healthy lifestyle, and form the basis for so18 cial relations. Much of the region’s population prac19 tices subsistence, with salmon making up a large 

20 portion of their diets, and residents are particularly 

21 vulnerable to potential changes in salmon abun22 dance. 


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1 SEC. 3. CODIFICATION OF FINAL DETERMINATION RELAT2 ING TO PEBBLE DEPOSIT AREA. 

3 The final determination of the Environmental Protec4 tion Agency, published on February 3, 2023, and titled 

5 ‘‘Final Determination To Prohibit the Specification of and 

6 Restrict the Use for Specification of Certain Waters With7 in Defined Areas as Disposal Sites; Pebble Deposit Area, 

8 Southwest Alaska’’ (88 Fed. Reg. 7441), shall have the 

9 force and effect of law. 

Æ 


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