U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment 

Record of Public Comment Meeting 

Igiugig, Alaska - Wednesday, June 6, 2012 

[00:00:00.28] 

Mary Olympic (translated from Yup'ik by Joe Chythlook) 

Translator speaks: How are you tonight? I am sleepy. She will tell us what she knows, she 

can't tell what she don't know. She remembers what her grandfather told her when he was 

about the same age. She used to think that her grandfather was talking about stuff that didn't 

make any sense. She recalls her grandfather talking about things that are going to take place in 

the future. One of the things that he used to mention was gold and minerals were going to 

cause a lot of problems for many people. How did her grandfather know that things like this 

were going to happen? In reference (I guess) to the Pebble Mine from what she has observed 

and heard there is potential for toxic drainage for both sides of the mine into the Nushagak and 

Iliamna or Kvichak River. One of the concerns her grandfather used to have is to tell the white 

folks that there are effects that any mine could have on the people. It is a concern she heard 

from her grandfather that is if there are any problems or tragedies from mining that happens it 

could have a devastating effect on salmon, and even though there is money in gold, it doesn't 

last as long as what we have in the salmon resource. She says that in her mind, subsistence 

way of life is more valuable than what the mine has to offer, because in the end, it will still be 

there when the mine is gone. A concern she shares with her grandfather says that it will not 

only affect the fish, but it will affect the bears and the animals in the area will also be affected. 

She shares that we are experiencing some of the things and concerns that her grandfather 

shared. Some of the hard times and she would like to convey the same concerns to our young 

people so that they will also know what she learned from the past. She realizes that people who 

are for it are working hard to make it happen. It will be money, but in the end, it has an end 

compared to what we already have. She wants to relay that she was taken on a trip out of state 

to where an Indian reservation and an elder there relayed that there was a different kind of fish 

and after a mine..... from the toxic waste there were no more fish in the area. Some of the other 

effects, the deer, squirrel and other small mammals drank from the water and died and the 

people could not eat them. She reiterates the fact it is a risky threatening, life threatening 

business what we are facing today and she realizes that people pushing for it. 
 She has been recalling some of the teachings and thinking about them she has lost some 

sleep, because she is worried about what may happen to the future generations, the young 

people who are going to be facing this more than her. Kind of a little humor to her grandfather 

from her Mom's side used to tell her that where the Pebble prospect is now, has always been a 

prospect for money and then she says she couldn't believe it because you were cross-eyed. 

One of the major effects that she is concerned about is that many people who have commercial 

fished for years, not just from Bristol Bay, but from all over that there is a detrimental effect from 

the mine on those people too. (Yupik exchange) Thank you. 

[00:14:45.28] 

Randy Alvarez 

My name is Randy Alvarez and I live in Igiugig since 1980. I serve on the Igiugig Tribal Council 

as the Vice President. I also serve on the Lake Iliamna Fish and Game Advisory Committee I 

serve as the Chairman of that committee. I also serve on the Lake and Peninsula Borough 

assembly. I represent the north; I have one of the northern seats. I've been commercial fishing 

in Bristol Bay since I was old enough to sit in the boat - five or six years old - and I plan to do 

that as long as I can. That has basically been my livelihood. I am also a representative of our 

area people and I need to speak that way. As most of you know, our villages our dying. My 

position is that I'm not in the same position as the tribes who asked for the 404c, but I'm also not 

in the same position of the two tribes that wanted the permitting process go through. What I 

would like to see EPA do is wait till they submit a proposal and then take action. Don't wait until 

the permitting goes through I would like to see what they plan on doing. I don't want to kill 

anything before we have all of the information. That is not leadership. I don't support a tailings 

dam that is going to be monitored and treated forever. If they can find a way to do this while 

minimizing the damage, it ought to be looked at. Having a catastrophic failure from ten 

thousand to a million, that is quite a range. That is like Fish and Game telling us that their 

forecast for escapement for Bristol Bay is 35 million, but it could be anywhere from 24 to 60 

million. Most of the time they are pretty close, but that is quite a range. A lot of people flew 

here. The chance of not surviving the plane crash back to where you came from is probably 

greater than the catastrophic failure of a tailings dam. Everybody takes a gamble every day of 

their life. You have to do things. I am only saying this because I will never be working at this 

mine site if it ever gets developed, but there are a lot of people who could possibly do that that 

live in the region. Our villages our dying. In our school district, the Lake and Peninsula School 

District, we had two schools close, one two years ago due to lack of enrollment. People are 
moving away due to lack of economic opportunity. I feel like I'm damned if I do and damned if I 

don't, so that is kind of what I wanted to speak to you about. I also noticed on your assessment 

that how confident you are on this information. If you look on page 13, it shows a picture of a 

rainbow and the caption says it was caught in American Creek on the Kvichak River. I trapped 

over there in the early 80s before it became a national Park. American Creek runs into Kovo 

Lake, which runs into Grosvenor Lake, which runs Savenasky River which runs into Naknek 

Lake which runs into the Naknek River. It is part of the Naknek River drainage. I haven't had a 

chance to look at your assessment, I've been pretty busy getting ready for commercial fishing, 

but I just came back today to come to this. I am going to be too busy to make an intelligent 

comment. I looked at it for about an hour but there is a lot of information to digest and I won't be 

putting my boat away until the end of July. I won't be able to comment on anything until August 

or September, so I would like to see the comment period extended because I'm going to leave 

tomorrow morning and go back and will be fishing in a week or ten days, and won't have time to 

do that. You said that the Upper Talarik Creek has had some 80,000 fish in it. That is a high 

number. The Kvichak River is a cyclic river system. It has ups and downs. Fish and Game tried 

to level it out a few years ago and kind of screwed it up for a while but every other system in 

Bristol Bay is pretty much level. Lake Iliamna has had as much as 10 million escapements up 

the river. Up the lake. There was so many fish in the lake one year in the 70s that the lake 

would stink. Typically there are about 20,000 sockeye that spawn there. It’s not a big system, 

but there are great big systems nearly that I am worried about like Upper Talarik Creek typically 

a 10th of the Kvichak River escapement doesn't even compare to it. Other areas around the 

lake are big producers, but they are so far away I don't know what kind of impact it would make. 

I kind of like to have accurate information because I serve on councils and game boards and I 

have to give accurate information or I lost credibility and they won't do what I like them to do. I 

didn’t see a lot of accurate information. I wasn't asked anything on this assessment on 

subsistence or anything. I served on the BB federal subsistence committee for a few years - I 

represented the whole Bristol Bay area and I wasn't asked anything and I was concerned about 

that. 

[00:23:52.02] 

Joe Chythlook 

I retired from Fish and Game after 20 years. I'm Joe Chythlook. I am a tribal member of the 

Aleknagik and I lived in Bristol Bay all my life. I have been a hunter and a subsistence and 

commercial fisherman for a good part of my life. First of all I want to thank EPA for doing a BB 
watershed assessment. BBNC shareholders met through the years since we started discussing 

the Pebble and dealing with the threat that many spoke about for a long time. Recently BBNC 

shareholders in our survey find that 81% of them were opposed to development of the mine. 

BBNC made its position known in 2009. Some of the very issues that you guys are speaking 

about and have published have been some issues that we have talked about for years with our 

shareholders. The traditional knowledge that you very aptly spoke about is in total agreement 

with many of the things that are expressed in the report as I read it. BBNC board always had a 

truth first policy and one finding that suggests that salmon is the foundation of our culture I 

support 100%. There are a couple of findings that I wanted to mention. One is that is the 98% 

likelihood of pipeline failure is for 25 years would put at least 1/3 of Lake Iliamna sockeye 

population at risk. That is pretty high. Finally, if there was ever a failure of a tailings dam it 

would cause 30% loss of Nushagak king salmon and 10-20% of the Mulchatna king salmon as 

well. It is potential risks like this that concern to me and the people who we listen to have 

voiced for many years. The risk to our culture and our primary food source and our long 

standing tradition. Again, the ____that our people have talked about the risk associated with 

the Pebble mine and they are too great to accept today, and as Mary suggests for those of our 

people who come after us. So, my urge again today is that EPA take quick action on a 404c to 

protect Bristol Bay waters and salmon and our people. In my opinion, the dialogue has gone on 

long enough. The sooner we get this done, the better it will be for all of us. The BBNC board 

and staff are committed to solve any issues and problems we have with our region. Thank you. 

[00:28:16.17] 

Pete Hill (5 years old) 

My name is Pete Hill. I wondered about the drinking water because we ______ get our drinking 

water from Iliamna Lake. 

[00:28:45.22] 

Sharon Wilson 

This is just a comment ____ Pebble on their release. But I am here on a personal note to ask 

EPA to extend the comment period. I am a commercial fisherman and a BBNC shareholder and 

I belong to the Naknek Village Council as a member and I spent a good time of my life up here 

on Lake Iliamna before I moved to Naknek with my family. My dad is sitting over there I come 

from a long line of fisherman. As Randy stated earlier, the amount of time it takes to get ready 
and when you are out there fishing, well last year I didn't get off the boat until August 8. My 

husband is a diehard fisherman. You are asking people to give you comments on the 

watershed assessment and for myself it's just not enough time to pick it up and read it. I would 

like to see you extend the comment period. Thank You 

[00:30:28.03] 

Hjalmar Wilson 

My name is Hjalmar Olsen. A retired fisherman. I've been fishing all my life. Well over 50 

years in all parts of Bristol Bay. I've hunted and trapped up the Mulchatna. Up the Swan and 

Koktuli River on the peninsula and I served on the Nushagak Fish and Game advisory 

committee for about 25 years. I also served as chairman and CEO of the BBNC for about 30 

years, until I retired about four years ago. I want to thank EPA for doing the watershed 

assessment. I think it was long overdue. I think we need - personally I'm concerned about the 

economy of the BB region, you showed some numbers up there. I can remember a few years 

when they were higher than that and I can remember a few years when they were a disaster. 

But fishing for 50 some years and I survived it. My family done very well, it is a nice renewable 

economy and it is still as vibrant as it was when it started in the 1880's. If this development up 

there is developed, I think the potential for a disaster is imminent. It will affect the spawning 

beds for the salmon. Wherever you start in the lower 48, the Columbia River, Sacramento 

River. High development has destroyed the salmon industry out there and talk to a lot of 

fisherman from the lower 48 that come up here to fish and they say take care of our fishery up 

here you've got a golden opportunity. Another thing I want to tell you is that I don't think you 

should extend that comment period. We live in a high tech world we have 29 tribal governments 

in the region. They all have tribal administrators. We have village corporations that are active. 

We are a high tech world. We have computers that can reach around the world in seconds. We 

have telephones; we have fax machines; so I think that July 23 is ample enough time for us to 

submit public comments. Thank you for travelling around the region and welcome to the 

Serengeti of Alaska. 

[00:33:39.24] 

Peter Andrew 

My name is Peter Andrew. Commercial fisherman, subsistence user, BBNC board member. I 

want to thank the EPA for conducting the watershed assessment. After reviewing it I feel that 
the accuracy of this assessment and the information that has been gathered and used. In the 

executive document you used comments and scenarios that were used by Pebble Partnership 

along with Northern Dynasty. The data in their plan and that information was gathered over 

eight years. Therefore, I feel and I think that you need to carry out your time line. We have 

been at this for eight years. Stick to your timeline. Finish it. Help us save our culture. Help 

save our economy thank you guys for coming and I hope that the future will be as bright as 

bright sockeye salmon. 

[00:35:13.06] 

Amy Riddle 

I am Amy Riddle. I have connections to the bay since 1968. Living in King Salmon, Naknek for 

38 years and since 07 we moved to this valley and my husband and I come to Igiugig for the 

summer. Thank you for being here. Just like all of us in the audience who have lives filled with 

things to do; you have taken time to be here. I appreciate that effort and this opportunity to 

speak. I have subsistence fished and hunted and game for 44 years. I learned this way of life 

as a young girl helping my parents. After George and I married, we continued this way of life 

and raised our daughter Adrienne on subsistence fish and game. A is getting married in August 

and we look forward to the possibility of grandchildren. As you can see from this line of thought 

that we intend to have our grandchildren by our side participating in this subsistence lifestyle. 

So what concerns me about the potential mining impacts that your assessment addresses. On 

the cover of the assessment, there is a statement that says Do not cite or quote, although I can 

appreciate the reasons for this, there are some reasons that I want to stress. The condition of 

terrestrial ecosystems in BB is intimately linked to the condition of salmon populations. This is 

true of my family who has relied on salmon for three generation. This subsistence way of life is 

a key element of identity. It is all I've ever known since I was a little girl. It's all our daughter 

has known. A key element to our identity, yes. A salmon based existence is integral to our life. 

Even with no failures at the mine there are major problems. I understand that my 44 years of 

subsistence is small when compared to 10,000 years of residence of Bb. In the assessment, it 

states several times that the consequence of problems could not be quantified. I respectfully 

disagree. As I look around the room at the faces here, I see people who are just as concerned 

as I am about our way of life and our identity. I say that is quantifiable. 

[00:37:47.12] 
George Riddle 

I am the husband who she alluded to. For 30 years as of yesterday. Again my name is George 

Riddle. I own Blueberry Island Lodge. We have been in the Bay for some time and involved. I 

appreciate your assessment. In the scenario, you did mention terrestrial use and possible loss 

of habitat, but one of the things that I didn't see was waterfowl and upland game habitat loss 

mentioned and the migratory waterfowl that are an important part of subsistence. I would also 

like to address the extension for commenting. Alaska has a short working season and we must 

make hay while the sun shines so I would personally endorse extending that period. 

[00:39:00.20] 

Kristina Ramirez 

One thing that is really big is we like to share food, so I brought some Nushagak king salmon. 

You can eat it. I had a whole speech written out, but one thing I was thinking about was the 

tailings dam. Are those going to be a standard dam with a wall and no top? (Phil North 

responded that it would likely be an earthen dam with an engineered core). I didn't see anything 

in the report about the permafrost and about how the ground when it freezes, it heaves. I guess 

my concern is that this dam if this dam is not covered and then the ground heaves, then the 

tailings would be able to seep into the ground as you know the wetlands here - it is all water 

underneath and it is all soppy. I wish you would look more into the permafrost and how the 

ground would change levels. I know from personal experience around here, the houses, they 

shift, the buildings they shift, s that is something that they should really, really consider even if 

they could do this 100% perfect okay they should look into it. Everything around here is 

lopsided because of it and if this should be forever, and we see buildings that are pushing 50 

years or even 20 years they have shifted. My mom’s house is 20 years old and it is already 

tilting. That is something that should be considered, especially in the long term. 

[00:41:23.14] 

Don Shepard 

My name is Don Shepard. I live in Pedro Bay. I've been here since 2004 about six months 

each year. I'd like to see in your assessment ____not presented in the executive summary and 

use the dam as an example. There is no comparison between this study and other EPA studies 

and whether they considered all of the same variables. There are probably studies from various 

science groups industries or universities and there are no comparisons with those. Perhaps 
most importantly to carry through with all of your studies a review of history. When EPA did 

their study in 1990-something on a dam somewhere. What was the result of that study and how 

did it compare to fact. Show your error bars from error bars from specific documented cases. If 

you could carry that through it would be very useful. I am a physical chemist, I crunch numbers 

and it makes me happy. 

[00:43:07.07] 

Colter Barnes 

I guess what I just want to ask the EPA is just to take the local comments very seriously. The 

people that are here today are the best scientists that you have. They might not have the titles 

or degrees and the agencies and NOAA. These are the people who live here. What about the 

seals. I didn't see anything in the packet, I didn't get to read the whole thing, but there are two 

places on the planet earth that are known to host freshwater seals and I didn't see anything 

about them. I don't know if this was missed or if the data wasn't out there. If we missed that, 

what might we have missed on a smaller scale? Another thing is the word in perpetuity. I've 

heard the word a lot and also forever. I don't think humans can comprehend what that means. 

We throw around forever like it means something. It is like hanging a balloon full of acid over 

Washington DC that is going to be there forever and some day it might break or pop. You can 

lose your jobs, lose your livelihood or lose your culture and that word forever is risky and that 

scares me a bit. There is a lot of good information and accurate information in the assessment 

that would take hundreds or thousands of years to do completely. From the seals to the 

sticklebacks, to everything in between there is so much. The fear of the unknown is the 

greatest fear of all. What we can talk about is that this environment has sustained culture for 

thousands of years. It sustained jobs and commercial fishing for hundreds of years, and 

recreation and sport fishing and everything. For years the conservation was controlled by the 

people, but now this responsibility has been farmed out to the agencies. Fish and Game G, 

Forest Service, EPA and that worries me. It's hard to take care of things when you are not living 

it. So I ask that you take public comment very seriously. From Mary Olympic to Pete Hill this is 

very serious and I ask that you take it seriously. 

[00:46:16.23] 
Renee Zacker 

I wrote this down so that I could read it really fast and it helps me to look at my paper so that I 

am not scared. Salmon oil is good for my mood. Ask my husband. I like to eat the oily skin 

part of the smoked salmon. My mouth is watering just talking about it. I know I don't have to 

convince many people here how good our subsistence food is. My name is Renee Zacker, I've 

lived around Iliamna Lake for most of my life. I feed my five kids, my husband and my motherin-law subsistence food. We put up salmon in the summer and hunt moose in the winter. My 

husband commercial fishes and my son just started this year. I know of the importance of 

salmon to our way of life. With that said, some of the risks to salmon and their habitat that the 

Pebble Mine might cause if they go through, even without any major failures. Eliminated or 

blocked streams reduced water flow, mining water for day to day operations and the removal of 

miles of streams and acres of wetlands. This would affect salmon and the other fish in the area 

by reducing the quality and quantity of habitat without any major failures. The thought of a 

failure is unimaginably scary. I thought that I only had two minutes so I didn't say a lot. I am 

aware that a lot of people are moving away from villages to Anchorage to work. There just 

aren't enough jobs and this makes me sad. So I have to say to our native corporations to create 

more jobs using the renewable resources that we have so that we won't have to gamble with 

our children’s future by letting the mine pollute. Allowing the mine to go forward is just too risky 

to our way of life, our water and our subsistence. I thank EPA for doing this assessment. 

Please take action to stop this potential and actual pollution of our water and salmon habitat. I 

didn't go into detail about the actual pollution, and I'm just saying because I saw the YouTube 

video. It looks like they are polluting already. I want EPA to look into what they are already 

doing with the drill holes and the mud. It looked like pollution and like maybe there was already 

acid coming up from the drill holes. I would like that to be looked into and seeing maybe if it is 

polluting and already happening. 

[00:49:38.19] 

Brian Kraft 

My name is Brian Kraft. I have a sport fishing lodge here on the Kvichak River about four miles 

downstream. I have another one on the Naknek River as well. This is my 19th year of 

operation in the region. I want to thank the EPA for doing the watershed assessment, although I 

couldn't spend much time looking at it. You were asked by nine tribes to invoke the 404(c). I 

understand the process you had to go through, the watershed assessment has to be done, that 
there are facts that have to be found, there has to be a basis in order to proceed with the 404c 

process and I looked through what the assessment has done and the amount of information that 

is available from Northern Dynasty minerals, from Pebble Partnership and from other state 

agencies as to what resources already exist in the region is monumental. The assessment has 

taken those data into consideration and has looked at what a potential mine would look like in 

the region and in that area and it has accurately determined on a minimal basis that there is 

going to be an impact to the area to the fishery and the habitat. I've also looked at the 

assessment through the eyes of this region and the jobs that are talked about extensively. It is 

not EPA's job to create jobs. It is EPA’s job under the CWA to protect the waters of the US. 

The state of Alaska has failed to do so. EPA has been asked to come in and make a 

determination of whether a 404c should be put in place. A 404c determination does not prohibit 

mining and it does most certainly not prohibit other activities such as airports other roads and 

other industrial projects coming into the region. The risk assessment is spot on. The state of 

AK does not have a tool in its permitting system that is rigorous and diligent to simply ask the 

question of whether the area is appropriate for the type of industrial activity that is proposed. 

This risk assessment should be looked at as a valuable tool and put in place for the general 

public to look at and make a determination if this is an area that we want to risk losing stream 

just by the footprint of industrial development going in. It is important that people have an 

opportunity to comment. I think the time is adequate to make a comment on it. Typically when 

we are presented with state issues we get between 30-45 days to comment no matter what you 

are doing or the season, and rarely if ever is there an extension on that comment period. This 

is a draft assessment, it is not a 404c determination, and the public will have another 

opportunity to comment if and when a 404c determination is made. I strongly urge to stay on 

time and stay on target and make a final determination with the final assessment. I appreciate 

you coming to villages throughout the region to hear comment. 

 [00:54:47.00] 

John Bouker 

I really wasn't planning on speaking, but I flew up some BBNC folks from Dillingham. My wife is 

from Manokotak and I have six kids. Five Bristol Bay ____permits, I own an Air Taxi and three 

operating hard rock quarries in western Alaska. Went to school of mines in Butte, Montana - a 

premier mining school. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what copper sulfite does 

to fish. You go to Butte Montana and it is pink on the rock. It doesn’t take fancy study or words. 
I know what storm water prevention plans are and all that stuff. What do you do when you 

make a mess with a mine? You can make it look real good with a D-8 and a DX 7 - it will look 

good real fast. The state of Alaska doesn't pay attention. We need EPA to come in and put the 

hammer down because nobody is watching. And I own a mine. When is the last time someone 

came up and checked storm water at my mine? Try never. There is all kinds of time. It's all 

about mines. I make more money with hard rock mine than I make fishing, but the fish are 

important for my kids who are Manokotak. Fish are first. Plenty of time You can study things 

until you are blue in the face. The studies just go on and on and on. Big impact, sport fishing 

big impact. I flew helicopters for oil which is pretty clean. How many villages up there have 

engineers? Very few. Everyone comes from down south. 

[00:57:12.20] 

Roy Andrew 

Hi I am Roy Andrew from Kokhanok. I do some mining research on all different aspects. 

Sometimes I have to play neutral. One of the things I don't like is absence of for example what 

the large scale complex would look like. If you go to a study a top ten mines in the world, say 

for acreage and when you take a picture next to a truck tire you look tiny. If you look at the 

huge industrial complex and if you place one truck on there it will look tiny. Just think about the 

exhaust fumes and that isn't counting dust and fumes and everything that comes out.......365 

days a year on and on. What I don't like seeing it that this paper is like parts per million...if you 

go into the study of before, during and after pictures of the mine at Red Dog. Go by Kiana. You 

can see a big difference. The mine people cannot say "but we didn't." It cannot be disputed. 

We are known for our high east winds. On Lake Iliamna you can find north winds on the 

Kokhanok winds you find east wind. Think of all the machinery exhaust that will blow over and 

fall on the Scott River side. That is unacceptable. When you have a shift of wind, it will fall right 

in the middle of Iliamna. Look at before during after pictures of large scale mining and if you 

keep that as true, this is something that no pro or anti mine groups can dispute. One thing that 

shocked me was was talking to people from Kiana area who told me of the damages they had 

seen. I thought they were just talking, but no, and then I saw the pictures. You cannot have 

Anglo American and Northern Dynasty come in and dispute your study. Use pictures as iron 

clad proof. I don't think its right for an industrial complex to come into a place where there has 

been no development of this size. If you look at the for example the oil fields - they may have 

acceptable damages. But put a mining operation out there in no place, although the damages 

are acceptable for an industrial complex, they are unacceptable for our type of life and culture. I 
don't like it. It is unacceptable and I wish EPA would do a study on that - go to a site and 

examine 300 mines. I did this for my work. What you will find is shocking. I think what 

disgusted me the most were the pictures. The pictures didn't lie. The pro mining people 

couldn’t come in and dispute. 

[01:04:01.24] 

Bonnie Gestring 

I would like to thank the EPA for completing the draft BB watershed assessment. It clearly 

highlights the severe and lasting consequences of developing the Pebble deposit on wild 

salmon habitat. I am particularly concerned by the likelihood that the mine waste will become a 

severe and lasting source of acid mine drainage to the rivers and streams below the mine. Acid 

mine drainage is like opening Pandora’s Box. There is no fix for it. The assessment estimates 

that there are waste rock piles alone could generate up to 2.8 billion gallons of contaminated 

seepage every year and that the copper concentration of that seepage could be so high that the 

entire flow of upper Talarik Creek couldn't provide enough dilution to meet water quality 

standards. So failure to contain those releases could cause the entire creek and possibly 

portions of Iliamna Lake to become toxic to fish. There has been talk about storing the acid 

generating waste rock under water or in the tailing impoundment or in the open pit after the 

mine has been closed. I would like to stress the importance that storing mine waste under 

water will only slow the process it doesn't stop acid generation and there is ample 

documentation even with industry records of hundreds of operating mines around the world. 

These records say that all these mines leak to some extent over time. The bottom line in terms 

of my take away is that there is a bit of a choice between managing for a sustainable a fish 

population in perpetuity or managing mine waste and contaminated water in perpetuity. The 

assessment makes a compelling case for initiating a 404c process. 

[01:06:36.05] 

Tiel Smith 

Thank you for the opportunity to talk a little bit today. I realize that you have to be limited on 

testimony time, but it is nice to not be limited to two minutes. I was born and raised in Bristol 

Bay. I commercial fish on the Kvichak at Graveyard point my entire life and I enjoy that with my 

family today. I've also had the opportunity to work as BBNC's land man. VP of lands and 

regional operations. I've done that since 2004. What I have learned working for BBNC is that 
we along with the village corporation own 3 million acres of land. Today’s discussion is about 

the protection of waters. There is a correlation between the two and I appreciated the 

explanation about the studies that you have done relative to that connection. BBNC and the 

village corporation have a long proud history of doing economic development in the region and 

we want to continue to be able to do that. However, I could not speak more eloquently than my 

BBNC board members have done in making their request to EPA. The point I would make on 

behalf of the landowners, is that there is sustainable development that will need to happen even 

as we increase the protections for the development of such projects. We do appreciate all of the 

science and effort that has gone into the assessment. Considering not just the corporations but 

other private land owners as well who are impacted by such significant decisions. The 

renewable resource of fish is priority and is not matched anywhere in the world and we want to 

continue to support that. 

[01:09:57.21] 

Todd Calitri 

I have been lucky enough to spend the last 14 summers on the Kvichak as the Sportsman's 

Lodge manager. I have also had the privilege to grow as a human being with a lot of the locals 

here in Igiugig. My only comment tonight is that I have 11 guides on staff at the lodge. Each 

one of the guides has had sufficient time to read over the assessment and make comments, 

and I would like to request that the comment period not be extended. Thank you for coming to 

spend time with us. 

[01:10:46.19] 

Sandra Alvarez 

I am the third resident of Igiugig to speak to you tonight. My name is Sandra Alvarez and I have 

lived here since 1983. I have been a participant in the BB commercial fishing for 42 years. I 

won't tell you that I'm for or against or otherwise. I speak to what I have seen, and I have only 

seen the exec. summary handed to me this afternoon. We are getting ready to greet the 

incoming salmon. This won't be the first time we have had things like this go under the radar. 

In my brief overview, I would say that the one thing that stood out is that you compare apples 

and oranges. In looking at the sockeye salmon you are looking at Bristol Bay and your 

document name is Bristol Bay assessment. Possibly 2/3 of the runs don't come within 100 

miles of this system. Back when I fished Egegik they were looking for 10 million, now they are 
looking for 5. When you say 82,000 are in the system that doesn't seem like a lot. A decent 

fisherman will catch 20,000. What I would like to see more of in the assessment itself is 

percentages and rates and what the impact would exactly be on the resource. It speaks also to 

acres and miles, but it doesn't speak to the system itself. People have talked about the east 

wind and the impacts from pollution flowing through the system. The other big part of it is the 

dissipation level. If you do a case study on the worst possible case scenario you could have, 

what you are looking at in terms of how far out into the ecosystem. It is 90 miles - 30 miles - 

however many thousand feet of pure pristine water. comparing the quantity of toxins you could 

have as it would enter the system would be a good thing to have in the document. I've worked 

for the village council for a good many years and I realize the economic impacts of this that and 

many things. We love our fish and we appreciate your time. If there is a way to extend the 

comment period you would get better comments out of the fishermen and the fleet. You are not 

going to hear what they would have said. 

 [01:16:40.03] 

Roz Goodman 

 My name is Roz Goodman. I am a resident of Pedro Bay. I have lived there for the last 12 

years. I first started coming to the lake area in 1982. I lived with a family near Pedro Bay and 

subsistence fished with them. I also lived in Dillingham for 3 years and worked as a librarian for 

the SW Region school district. Thank you for being proactive. I appreciate the fact that you 

listen to the local voice and I also appreciate the fact that there is now a scientific voice for the 

BB watershed, the fisheries and the lifestyle of the area that was not there before. I am also 

happy that things are moving along so that when time comes for more action we are prepared 

more than we would be without the assessment. I would like to see the comment time 

extended. I had trouble downloading some of the documents. This was the first chance I had to 

see the overall assessment and I also personally would like to talk to more people who are not 

here because I learned a lot from your presentation and encourage more of them to read the 

report and comment as well. Perhaps there could be a compromise for September. Also, I 

know the computer age you get info and respond, but in this case I think you need to get the 

info and think about it before responding. The next thing, I have a suggestion on the science 

part, on page 12 you mention the secondary development and this report does not address it, 

but the secondary development is very critical. The increased population and the stresses on 

the use of the resources and more fishing or whatever. Some will be good benefits and some 

may not be. It would be helpful to see the pros and cons of an influx of people. One concern 
from Pedro Bay is the dust factor from the road. There will be dust even from a service road. It 

would be helpful to include this in the assessment. The last thing I would like to say is that I've 

lived in Alaska for 30 years and I moved here by choice. My experience of living in this area is 

that people choose to be here whether born or coming here. It is a choice. It is not a scientific 

fact, but three reasons people choose to be in BB is because clean water, the fishery and the 

lifestyle. I think if any of those change big time then BB is going to be totally different and will 

not be the BB we know now. 

[01:21:16.12] 

Gil Jacko 

I'm Gil Jacko from Pedro Bay. I am a laborer. I don't commercial fish, but I gather salmon to 

smoke or salt. I gather berries. I have one question. Does the road have to be there? (Phil 

answered that this is the alternative that is usually on the table). Any time you put a road in a 

natural environment especially a hillside or a mountainside, all the downhill side of that road is 

going to be severely affected. It is like putting a noose on the vegetation below the road. If the 

road has to be there, it would be a wise decision or an option to invest some time to get a real 

understanding of how to suspend the road over natural vegetation like you guys do with the 

pipeline. Down in San Diego, sections of the I-9 are 100 feet in the air. I just recently in the last 

1 year have gotten the basic village highway to go around the land mass. Because of what we 

did with that 2.5 miles of road, it cut off the vegetation flow to the rest of the wetland. Berries 

don't grow the way they used to below that road. When I was 11 or 12 I could pick handfuls of 

salmonberries there and now I can count the number of berries. The other organisms and 

aquatic life is being cut off. So this 75 miles long road (Rick: 86) another one was that they 

suggested mining through the mountain out of sight out of mine and they would go through our 

little village. There would be trash and garbage and toxic chemicals. There is not getting 

around that once there is a truck there it is over with. It is really scary. I just took a hazwoper 

class and it freaked me out. Don't change any dates. Keep it the same. You guys got a 

deadline. 

[01:25:51.20] 

Tanya Salmon 

I wasn't going to speak, but after several people went I realized that this is what I needed to do 

for my daughter. I’ve grown up here. I never commercial fished in my life. My dad wanted us 

girls to stay away from the boatyards. But we did subsistence fishing and we have subsistence 
fished in our family for over 10,000 years. It is a cycle that is always repeated. It is amazing to 

see four generations at the splitting table. My gram, my mom, my sister and her kids. It is a 

tradition that keeps getting passed on and on. I keep getting worried about the water quality if 

the mine does open. Here we have running water, but nobody likes to drink it. Everybody 

would rather go down to the river and pack water and I am one of those people who would 

rather pack water to drink river water. My daughter grew up on it. I gave my niece a glass of 

well water and she spit it out. Then I gave her river water and she was bouncing around like it 

was really good stuff. I think it is important that we keep our water quality. I checked out 

several mines and I was disturbed to find that they could not drink their water any more. They 

had to get all of their water imported. What happened to that community - the community is 

slowly dying off. They are talking about how everyone is leaving outside, but if you think about 

it, if something were to happen to our water, to our fish, then nobody would be here but the 

miners. Once the water is gone then everyone is gone. Water is very important to our 

community growing up and playing in it. I've given my daughter water without boiling it and they 

were horrified. But why would I buy water - I have it right here. My big concern is that 

something would happen to the water in our region. 

[01:28:48.15] 

Brad Waitman 

My name is Brad Waitman and I have the little lodge across the river called Igiugig Lodge and I 

have been guiding here since 1985. Since 1987 until 09 I guided out of Nondalton and I was a 

pilot guide, so I spent a lot of time looking around. My route to take me back to Nondalton was 

right over the top of Upper Talarik Creek. I did a lot of hunting and trapping at Groundhog 

Mountain which is right where is mine is. Back in the 80s I remember seeing the core samples. 

Another mining company was looking at that area but decided not to go forward. Once I saw 

them looking start to ramp up and start drilling in the 90's I started thinking about it every time I 

flew over Upper Talarik. Getting back to the water quality thing, I thought if they dig a hole, it is 

a natural artesian river and the water from Upper Talarik is going to flow into that hole. They will 

have to divert the water back out so that it doesn't destroy the stream. It is going to totally 

contaminate the smell of the water. The fish won't like the smell of the water and they won't 

come back. The Upper Talarik has a beautiful fun of sockeyes, silvers and lots of rainbows. It 

is a beautiful stream. It is great to see the EPA looking at this. If they were to destroy one 

stream it is a deal breaker. I don't see how they could be allowed to divert water back and 

make a Disneyland stream. If it is not a natural running stream, the fish and the whole smell of 
it will be completely changed. The other thing and I learned this from someone else that 

showed me what the mine might look like, is that there is a lake called Frying Pan Lake is going 

to be where the tailings pond is supposed to be. You have destroyed Upper Talarik to get the 

flow back up and you have destroyed Frying Pan Lake by putting a tailing pond is on top and 

claim that the lake is still there, just underneath the tailings. It doesn't make sense. I hope EPA 

keeps a good close watch first Upper Talarik will be ruined and everything will go down from 

there. 

[01:32:07.27] 

Aaron Shugak 

My name is Aaron Shugak and I am from Pedro Bay. I would like to thank you for coming here 

and doing your study. I encourage you to do whatever you possibly can to keep the mine from 

going in. If the mine goes in and something does happen - and we are human, we make 

mistakes - Mistakes get people hurt or worse. If the mine goes through and an accident does 

happen a lot of salmon will disappear and it will be like a chain reaction. The bears their main 

food source is the salmon and if they don't have a source of food, there are dangers for locals 

from bears coming to towns and going into dumpsters and go after people. I strongly 

encourage you to do whatever you can to keep the mine from going in. 

[01:33:46.28] END 

************************ 

Note: This is not a certified transcript. This record of oral comments was transcribed by Judy 

Smith, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator from audio recordings taken at the EPA public 

meeting held in Igiugig, Alaska beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 6, 2012. Every effort 

was made to transcribe the testimony accurately, but there may be errors or omissions because 

of background noise during the meeting or the sound quality of the recording.