U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment Record of Public Comment Meeting Nondalton, Alaska - Thursday, June 7, 2012

[00:00:00.39] Will Evanoff

This will be short and sweet. In representing the Nondalton Tribal Council and the tribe of Nondalton, I would like to say thank you for initiating this study and focusing on the part that documents the subsistence, nutritional, social and spiritual importance of salmon to the Denai'ina people and other native groups in the region. This information is vital to the survival of our culture and we appreciate having our voice and perspective be heard at a local level. Nondalton has already been heavily impacted by the mi ning exploration in the area. In the last six years, there has been a steady increase in visitors to the village, including scientists, researchers, reporters, mining companies, anti and pro Pebble people. The Nondalton Tribal Council, who is under the authority of a federally recognized tribe, has limited resources and staff to address the issues concerns and visitors coming into the community. There is an

increased level of stress due to Nondalton Tribal Council opposition to the mine. The survival of our culture directly depends on the health of our land, the fish and the wildlife. No amount of money or jobs can replace our way of life and our culture.

[00:02:12.20] Jackie Hobson

My name is jack Hobson and I am a member of the Nondalton Tribal Council and we have been dealing with this issue for a long time. We are one of the six tribes who approached EPA and asked them to use their 404c authority to stop the Pebble Mine. But, they said they couldn't do that, they had to go through this process and that is what they are doing now. It has been going on over a year and I am very satisfied with what they have been doing, how they have been doing it and how they have been involving everyone in it. As you can see there are a fair amount of people in here and they are from all over, not just Nondalton. It is a whole Bristol Bay issue. Water is very important to everything we do. If you take a look outside, everything is coming back to life is due to water. Our bodies are made up of 70% water. The earth is 90% water, but if you think about it only 1% of the water is drinkable. A lot of things depend onwater, even in the water there are things that depend on the nutrients that come from salmon. The salmon swims up the stream and they die, they go to the bottom of the lakes and streams and then they feed other invertebrates and microorganisms that feed fish and other stuff. As you all know, fish have been important to us all our lives. Not 4,000 lives but a millennium. That is what we are trying to do is protect our way of life our culture and the fish for the next generations to come. These are renewable resources that will always be around as long as we take care of it. Another thing, these fish and animals they can't speak for themselves and that is why we are here. We are the caretakers of the land. Our ancestors took care of it for us and now we have to pass it on to the next generation. What we do and how we do it will affect the next generation. We don't want to leave them with things that they are going to end up fighting forever. That is not the native way. We are asking EPA to use your authority to do what you have to do to protect our culture and our way of life.

[00:05:56.10] Harry Kashnikoff

My name is Harry Kashnikoff and I got to thank the EPA for coming here to speak up about what they are doing and I'm glad they are here and I hope they use the 404c. I am for 404c,

because it's our land and it's our life. We have lived here all our lives and we don't want to lose it. I think our ancestors the people up there dealt with the same thing and we want our kids to live the same kind of life we did. Fishing, hunting, drinking the water and we don't have to worry about pollution. I am in support of 404c.

[00:07:15.12] Nancy Delkittie

Good afternoon welcome to our village. I would like to thank EPA for all the hard work you did on this assessment. This will help protect our clean water and our home, as we are not getting any kind of assistance from our state of Alaska government. My name is Nancy Delkittie. I am a Denai'ina, an Athabascan Indian. This village is my home. We are very rich people in our culture, our resources, plants, animals and salmon. They all need clean water. That is including us, the Denai'ina people of the land. But only because we are so blessed to have clean water. Salmon have been a great part of our diet for generations and will be in the future. When I was young, 11 years old in 1960, we didn't have freezers. I remember how busy - not just my family, but the whole village was in preparing for the summer salmon to come.Preparing the smoke houses, the drying racks, getting each smokehouse full, getting wood for the smokehouses. In the summer, our village came alive when salmon came. Our people would eat well. My Mom cooked salmon three times a day. Then when the berries ripened, my Mom would make a desert with the salmon as we still do today. Families worked all summer harvesting salmon. When we got done with the eating fish, we would harvest the salmon for our sled dogs. My Mom had two teams of dogs. Most families had two smokehouses, one for eating fish and one for dog food. Our parents and elders learned from our ancestors and they taught us at an early age how to harvest the salmon, berries and other plants. They also taught us how to salt salmon, the birds and beaver for winter. We also have a water holiday. On this day we show respect celebration to the water. It is a day we give the water a rest. We can't travel on water. On that day we give thanks for water the life giving gift, not only to the people but to the fish, plants and animals that need water. Salmon is known after 60 years that I know of, they are still in our diet today. Salmon will be here for the next generation to come. Without these we cannot exist as Denai'ina people. Are village will die. People will move. Our salmon will be no more. Our clean water will be polluted for mining. Thank you for helping to save our homes and food from the mining companies. We have been here for generations. Mining has been dividing our people for the past six or seven years. Family against family, brother against

brother. This has to come to an end.

[00:12:01.04] Clara Trefon

I am the tribal administrator for Nondalton. I thank EPA for coming here and doing this activity. I ask that you do not extend the timeframe due to the importance of getting this done. There isn't enough information on other fish in the study such as rainbow, Dolly Varden, white fish and pike and other fish that we eat that use the mine area up there. And, migratory birds, that is really important to us. The place where they have the Pebble site is caribou calving ground and also used to be a spring fish site for our people. Can you look at the University of Alaska Fairbanks information on our culture and our people the Denai'ina people on how we use the land, where we fish, where we hunt and how we live and I don't think there is enough information on the culture? Because the state doesn't recognize tribes, we have limited input on the process for the permitting process because it is a state function. We are not recognized, so we don't have a voice in the state system. That should be noted in your study too. We have no recognition from the state and limited from Pebble. It is just based on the state regulations that don't include us. It is important to note that. Thank you and please don't extend the time.[00:14:08.19] Kristi Jefferies

My name is Kristi Jefferies. I am a Denai'ina Athabascan Indian raised in Nondalton and I am proud to be raising my family here in N ondalton. My husband and I have two daughters aged six months and seven years old. Thank you for stepping in a conducting this scientific assessment on likely impacts for proposed large-scale mining. The assessment is well written and validates when we suspected, that at a minimum 10s of thousands of acres that support the fish and wildlife we rely on will be destroyed. It s hows that billions of tons of toxic waste will remain and we will have to contain, manage and treat it for hundreds of years perhaps forever. Such harm and long-term threats to the environment are clear and unacceptable. Please take action under 404c to prevent disposal of billions of tons of toxic waste in our wetlands. Please help us preserve our fish, wildlife and culture. The watershed assessment in my view underestimates the impacts that even underesti mate are unacceptable. I am intimately connected to this region and I am concerned about our ancestral lands. I want to make sure that my children and grandchildren will be able to use the lands abundant resources for subsistence in the future and that they retain their culture. As a Nondalton Tribal council member, it is my responsibility to preserve the land and water for future generations. The land, water, fish and wildlife have allowed us to live in this area for thousands of years. This land is our home it is the land of our ancestors. It is our right as residents of this region to protect and preserve our traditions, culture and spirituality. For these reasons I strongly oppose the Pebble Mine as it presents unacceptable risks to our subsistence and culture. The watershed assessment shows us that no one can guarantee that industrial mining of copper is environmentally safe and rather will not endanger our land, waterways and way of life. It will damage our pristine land and water. It will harm the wildlife and vegetation, and most importantly the fishery that we rely on for food. I do not see that benefit, especially long term from this mine. It will jeopardize the land, water fish and wildlife and most important the people in our village. The people should be able to voice their opinion and be heard. I ask you to please take into consideration what is at stake here. Not just the environment we live in but also the welfare of our people and our traditional and cultural way of life is on the line. I know mine proponents want to delay the assessment becaus e it is well done and underestimates the likely impacts and is based on good science. A 60-day comment period is sufficient. Please finish this is a timely manner and use the 404 c. Thank you very much for considering my concerns. It is very important and means a lot to me and my family.[00:18:12.20] Agnes Petrowski.

My name is Agnes Petrowski. I am the VP of the Newhalen Tribal council and I also work for the

Newhalen Tribe as the roads coordinator. I want to talk about the deadline of the assessment. First and foremost I am a mother and a grandmother of two years old and a month old. As a grandmother it is my responsibility to fight for and preserve our traditional rights for my grandchildren and future great grandchildren so they can practice subsistence way of life for generations to come. While I applaud the assessment as a beginning, by all means it will not be the end, especially when the people of Newhalen continue to live off the land. The comment period needs to be extended to early winter. EPA has chosen one of the busiest times of year in Alaska to hold hearings. Our people are on the move. Some are getting ready to commercial fish and working other summer jobs. Newhalen is a seasonal village. Our people need to work when jobs become available during the summer. So we will subsistence fishing and gathering. The executive summary doesn't allow me a sufficient time to express my concerns let alone those I serve. Time must be provided for our region to review the document and talk about it among ourselves in different settings and come to our own conclusions before the draft assessment. You were talking about the land and wetland that we depend on for subsistence. The tribe needs to be provided with adequate time to review and understand this assessment and what impacts it will have on our traditional lands. We are asking that more time be allowed and to extend the comment period.

[00:21:22.05] Courtney Gomez

My name is Courtney Gomez and I am a Chie f on the Currying Tribal Council in Dillingham. Thank you for coming here today and to our region to meet with us all. I feel like the assessment is exceptional. I left Bristol Bay when I graduated from high school and went off to college and became a trained scientist returning to Bristol Bay to work from the BBNA natural resource department for the last seven years. It was only a couple of months ago that I traded careers so that I am no longer affiliated with any funding source so that I can be a more active citizen and choose for my tribal council and fight ing for the rights of our people to protect our lands and waters. We feel very strongly that the timeline is sufficient and everyone who cares enough to comment has taken time out of their day. Look at all of us who made time to be heretoday. I am not a paid representative, paid by any organization to be here. I actually took vacation leave from my own job to be here today. We support the document. It is very strong and thanks you for taking the time.

[00:22:35.18] Moses Kritz

Thank you for being here. I thank the Nondalton folks for their generosity in allowing us to share their traditional foods. Thank you for allowing me to speak on behalf of our village. I am from Togiak and I'm the President of our traditional council. We are the western most part of BB. The reason that I’m here today is to ask you to help us. Our ancestors told us that water has sustained our way of life for thousands of years. I wear several hats. Traditional Council

President. BBNC as a director. I'm also with BBEDC. It is a sufficient amount of time for 60 days for the assessment and I think that a 404c is a must to protect our lands and waters. On another note, BBNC has always stressed fish first. I believe in it and I hope that you listen to us and protect our way of life and culture. Under BBEDC - history is very important to our communities and its economic values. So I thank you for listening and allowing.

[00:24:59.10] Olga Balluta

I just want thank all the people who are working so hard for the water, the fish and the plants and thinking of what our next generation is going to need. Doing the same thing maybe. Who knows, I don't know. Everybody is concerned about this mine, the water the fish and the plants and the animals. We all use that. We all depend on that. I know that everybody is all talking about it. I am glad that people are coming from all over everywhere to from city and down the state and especially Bristol Bay who is working so hard for everybody and our fish and water and our land. Thank you.

[00:26:19.08] William Trefon Senior

My name is William Trefon Senior. I am an elder from Nondalton, but I live at Port Alford for nine years. EPA watershed assessment - I didn't know if was going on for a year and now I don't really know what to comment on. It is very hard for me to say something that I want to say. We have been in this area for thousands and thousands of years and we lived off thewater and the water was kept clean. That is how we want the environment to keep. Our people are an environmentally concerned people, so I just want to say that I am for clean water and clean land, but I am also for economic devel opment where our people can go to work and have a place to work in this live in this area. Do I see it now, there are no jobs and a lot of people are moving out to where they can find work. So there are getting lesser and lesser people here because there is no economic base. Subsistence wise, we subsist, but it is not subsisting anymore, it is an allocation from the state. In the past we got what we wanted when we wanted it. Now the state tells us when the seasons open and to get it now. Subsistence is not like it used to be. Still we depend on fish, we put up a lot. We must keep the environment like it is. I'm hoping that EPA could be there in place to step in if the mine is polluting to stop the pollution. I'm not prepared for this kind of testimony. I didn't know this was developed this much. We should have been informed more on what was happening. I have been blind to this. I'm not against or for the mine, but I want to see my people have a place to work here in the

area and subsistence to continue.

[00:29:56.23] Gladys Evanoff (low audio)

I am from Nondalton. I lived on subsistence all of my life. I would like to thank EPA for doing what they are doing to protect our environment. Please help us, it would be the biggest mine in the world. It hurts me deeply, I have actually cried that our home might be destroyed and I want to save our fish and wildlife. I want my grandchildren to be able to fish like I did. I want to be using my fish camp and living off the fish and subsistence every traditional way. I've lived this way my whole life and I'm 77 years old. I don't like people being against each other over this mine. We should all live together and love one another as neighbors. It seems like it is pulling us apart. Money should not take people apart. We should all respect each other and allow that we are who we are. I worry about this big mine that is coming in. Please help us protect Bristol Bay from the mine.

[00:31:46.18] Darlene Wygone

I just came from Koliganek and I would like to thank EPA for coming here to hear the comments and to be invited here to come and speak. We came a long way living off our land and water. There is no separation. We are very seasonal for our traditional foods and salmon culture. I’m a commercial fisherman. I went down to Ekuk to set my lines and get ready for fishing and Ialso went there to pick up some greens and vegetables and then there is medicine plants that we live off on the land. You are talking about the effects of how a large-scale mine will affect us. It will affect us real. Our land and waters are like you hear a lot of these people talk about how we live. It is still continuing today. We would like to see that it stays protected. That it is not only going to affect the people around here. It a ffects everybody from all over. Even people from Red Dog mine and the people up in Barrow ask about how we are doing against the Pebble mine. We are still talking about it. There are a lot of people who don't want it. There are a lot of people who like to earn income. But, me personally I like how we are living now, fishing and off the land without the gold mine, even my family also and other people. I am not against people who work hard, but I would rather not see that. Help us now to stop the mine. Don't let it drag on and on. If the large-scale mining goes on, it's going to hurt us physically and spiritually. There is going to be a lot more like now - gold mining brought prostitution and drinking and alcohol and all that stuff. Throughout the years we have had to learn how to deal with all that stuff. It will be harder for us and who is going to help us. EPA will have to look somewhere else and to some other department. Please put a stop to the mine.

[00:35:58.07] Valerie Engebretsen

My name is Valerie. I work for Pebble. I have a big family who loves the outdoors and enjoy their subsistence way of life. Subsistence is good, but it is not paying for my bills and does not clothe my kids. I oppose EPA's action concerning the watershed assessment. I believe it was rushed. They only spent 11 months studying an area of 20,000 sq. miles and they only give the public 60 days to read and comment on the draft. It is during the busiest time of year for us all. EPA needs to give the public and themselves more time to learn and educate on these matters so we can make rightful and informed decisions. I also want to clarify a misunderstanding of an elder. We don't threaten our elders. Our people. We educate them. I want to make good decisions. No one speaks for me. Tribal leaders, BBNC, Nunamta. No one has the right to put words and false accusations on anybody. Furthermore, we also need to educate ourselves on the 404c as well as all the regulations that follow. The EPA needs to extend the public comment period time to a later date. It is insufficient and rushed. We need more time to read through the watershed assessment and the 404c. I'm asking if what you are saying about the discharge in the water can you please put that in writing. Can you clarify that? I would really like to see that in writing. That is all I have.[00:41:15.03] Karen Evanoff

Hi. My name s Karen Evanoff. I am a Tribal Member of Nondalton. My ancestors have lived here for generations on this land, and they were the first caretakers and managers of this land for centuries. Looking at the assessment on line and I also looked at Pebbles assessment online. Compared to what EPA has, which is much smaller, Pebble goes from the floor to the ceiling. It is a much larger volume of information to take in. EPA is doing something on time for once. You are getting things done sufficiently and in a timely manner. The federal government has a responsibility to ensure the health of the environment and food and water for future generations. Overall the survival of our earth. Our earth is suffering in a huge way and it is because of the greed of human beings around the world. This began centuries ago when western society began to lose the deep connection with nature and the relationship with nature being an equal. Living in harmony with all that is natural on earth. I say this because (Yup'ik word), white people used to live in harmony with all that is on earth. Before dominance and exploitation took over, before taking from the land became the priority. We as indigenous people have held on to this relationship much longer. This area and our way of life is the last few of remaining cultures that rely on salmon not only for food, but as the core of our culture and our identity. The traditional ecological knowledge and characterization study which is this one, that documents the importance of salmon to the people of the region, is a vital part of the overall assessment. It is vital because it portrays the voice and the spirit of the people, and the social relationship with the fish and the wildlife, and between people in our community and between each community. We shared with each other. That is part of our custom. It also documents the sacredness of our area and the inner biological clock that keeps us in tune with the land and the abundance that it provides. Right now, this clock is ticking in each one of us as we anticipate the coming of the salmon. If we are part of the generation that has lived here for centuries and this intimate interconnection with salmon is within all of us, no matter how dependent we have become on the material world, or how immersed we have become on the western society. The remaining of the study besides this one needs to incorporate the voice and the science of the people in order to be complete. Local input into the scientific research is beneficial for many reasons. We know the land best where the fish and wildlife are. The kinds of fish, the movement and change of wildlife, the habitat area, reasons for decline, water quality, just to name a few. Western science is only one part. Our ancestors knew about the minerals back in our sacred mountains. They made a conscious c hoice not to talk about it openly because they knew that outsiders would come and hardship that would cause to our land and our people.The spring season we are in now, in our culture, is the most powerful season of the year. Everything is waking up and coming back to life. We believe that everything on earth is alive and has a spirit. This is called (Yup'ik word); it means it is saying something. It is crying out in pain because of the destruction. I hope our answer in Alaska will come from people like you in this room and that you will work hard to protect what we have left.

[00:46:38.10] Carol Loftfield

This is an emotional thing for the 404(c). I hope it is done in a timely manner. My name is Carol Loftfield and I've been a resident of Nondalton for about 20 years now. I'm a pilot, artist and educator. I can give you facts and figures, I could try to prove to you how important this land is to me, to the people who call it home, to all that live here. But the facts and figures paint a small picture of a much larger truth. Facts and figures describe, define and measure. If lucky, they allow for accurate predictions. But what we are talking about today is a deeper truth. There is an inexpressible beauty here. A beauty that is part of a profound relationship. The black bear, the brown bear, the red berries, the aqua water, the powder blue sky. These are the colors of my home. The colors of this land. This is the beauty. But the beauty, its color, its motion and meaning is much more. To wax poetic, it is a great flowing design, with creatures lives and

habits all interwoven. The black bear munches on red berries, and then drops the plants tiny seeds on trails far and wide. The tiny seeds take root and start anew. Both mundane and marvelous, it is all in concert. Every life form singing its part in this great song of beauty and interdependence. This beauty, this interdependece includes you and me as much as the red berry and the black bear. Whether we participate through choice or not, we are still part of an extraordinary and magnificent grand design from t he bears in our own backyard to the sparkling stars in the heavens above. This is our beauty. It is ours, not as in we own it. Rather, it is ours in the choices we make in relation to it. This is a time for important choices. Is our relationship with this land one of carving out in gigantic proportions its precious metals, or is it protecting its great flowing design. Its waters, its fish, its creat ures lives and habits - all interwoven. What is proposed is a mining complex unprecedented in size and impact. I choose to protect this land against such massive extraction. Thank you for listening.[00:50:19.24] Christopher Gay

Hello everybody. For those who don't know me, my name is Chris and I've been here 40 years. My father and I run a sport fishing lodge. I've been a pilot guide for the last 25 years. I know the area very well, including the Koktuli, and Talarik Creek, Stuyahok and all that connecting watershed area. Back in 96 and through 98 they said that the hydro dam would not affect our fisheries. Well it has. Fourteen years later and our salmon are still declined. Our fish are been eaten by northern pike and trout, dominant which are starting to dominate the lake system because of the lack of salmon. The rivers are sensitive and touchy to the salmon migration. The change of the smell from a small project like this should be considered in the fact of how large that is going to be. It is going to have such a major impact for generations. Our children are not going to have anything left when it is all done. I've flown this area for a long time, and I can tell you that it is definitely something t hat would have to be done extremely carefully and it's possible that the area could not handle that type of large development. I'm not an anti-miner, I like my electronic devices and copper, and gold and all that stuff. It is all about saving something that can be saved and protecting other things like the caribou, the fish and the moose. They can't protect themselves. If a small project like that should be taken into consideration when we are looking at something that is so big. We are already in decline here. Our population of salmon is trying to come back. It is trying, but it is going to need help from us. Thank you.

[00:52:54.14] Clyde Trefon

Hi. My name is Clyde Trefon for most of you that don't know me. There was a petition going around to get an extension that was stopped here. We still have phone calls that people wanted to sign it so that we could extend that. That was stopped here. Like what Val was saying, there was a rumor that an elder being threatened that they needed to sign it or go to jail. That is not true, that is a bald faced lie. I got on the radio and said if anyone wanted to clear this up they could call me about it and no one called me. With that, like what my Dad Bill Trefon was saying, it should be extended. He needs more time to learn about it, we all need more time to learn about it and it's going on too fast. If you guys are saying that you are only going to be here for Pebble, then you need to say it on paper that you are only going to be here on Pebble and nothing else, because we heard stories from people who were former EPA workers. They saythat you guys could basically lie to us and so we want to see it on paper. Like we did in the past, but without the treaty being broken though. So we want to see all of this on paper that you guys going to be here for Pebble and Pebble only. Is that going to happen?

(Rick Parkin asks him to send him question in writing because he is not clear on what is being asked for - there is an exchange for clarification)

My family does subsistence. We like our fish. But still, nobody is going to give my boys jobs. Nobody is going to pay my bills. I'm not for or against. I want clean water, but we need jobs around here. Who is going to pay for my bills? I sure don't want to go back to welfare like I've been on for a while. I'm eight years sober today. I'm proud of that. No local help, just Valerie and my folks. I do my subsistence, I love my fi sh. My kids stay at fish camp from when we move down there to when we come back. We don't go down there in the daytime and come back in the evening, then all your fish is eaten by a bear. We don't do that, we stay with our fish. Thank you guys very much.

[00:56:46.14] Charlotte Balluta

Good afternoon. I'm Charlotte Balluta. I'm the environmental coordinator for the Nondalton Tribal Council. I am Denai'ina Athabascan born and raised in Nondalton. I'm (?), my mother was a chief's daughter and this is what she taught me. To respect the fish. I would like to thank the EPA for doing this assessment, because what y ou are doing is very important to me, our people and our future generations. We have to protect our culture, our environment from the proposed Pebble Mine. For decades, we have been caretakers of our land. It has been passed down to us for generations. We are very fortunate to have Lake Clark National Park to help protect our land and culture. The park has been a good neighbor. If the Pebble Mine or the big hydro along the Susitna River is developed, it would threaten our culture, water, fish and everything we value. The fish are very important to us. The first fish that comes in, we give it to the elders. Everyone comes together and we share the fish. To respect the first fish of the season we eat and when we are done we take the bones and put it back in the water. That is thanking the fish for giving its life to us. I'm a grandmother of three and I want to pass this tradition on to my grandchildren as my mother taught me. So that in my future, my grandchildren will be able to eat fish, because it is a most healthy food. I'm proud to say that our water is the most pure, clean, healthy water. It’s sad to see other places where they can'tdrink their water because it has been contaminated by mining. That is not what I want for future generations. Once again, I would like to thank EPA for being here and doing what they are supposed to be doing in environmental protection. Please finish the watershed assessment in a timely manner. I think that 60 day comment per iod you have for the assessment is plenty. Thank you for listening to us and stepping in to study this mine. You listened to us and took action when we asked for your help. We appreciate it and if you can help us to continue to protect our water and fish. Please use the Clean Water Act authority to protect Bristol Bay

forever.

[00:59:31.23] Donne Fleagle

Thank you. My name is Donne Fleagle. I am fr om McGrath. I am Athabascan according to the migration stories that I'm learning from my job. It's very interesting about this BB area as it

relates to the Kuskokwim. I'm from the headwaters of the Kuskokwim and how the relations and villages are connected. It’s been an interesting part of my job that I'm covering. I work for Wetaviiq, a subsidiary of the Alaska Peninsula Corporation. It represents five villages Port Heiden, Ugashik, South Naknek, Newhalen and Kokhanok . My job is to explain is to explain the EPA Bristol Bay watershed assessment. The assessment came out 10 days late, and I'm working very hard, I'm just one person. I will be travelling out to the communities next week and the week after to explain what I can on the EPA assessment. I'm here on behalf of APC and Wetaviiq to request that EPA consider a 120 day extension, which gives all of us the opportunity

in our own time to review and make comments. We know that if this was in the dead of the winter, I wouldn’t be challenged with 2nd and 3rd quarter visits. We are now. We are right in the middle of summer and we have such a short window in which to perform a lot of things for ourselves economically and personally. We are under the gun. I have some questions and some comments and I don't expect any answers t oday. I would like to know when a regulatory decision on the 404(c) be made. I am in agreement with others in the room on the need for some additional data. Not that it would make the decision process any easier, but it would be good to have data. Data on fish that are in the watershed area. I'm also curious about the Alaska Native cultures and the impact from the mine scenario, which you know from the executive summary, is uncertain. I am wondering if it is possible in the world that we live in now to do a comparison. If it is in the continental US or in south America, or someplace where there is a small isolated culture that has experienced mining and we can look at the benefits and also the adverse impacts. Just to get an idea. To move beyond where we are at. It is mentioned inthe Executive Summary about multiple mines. I have to ask, will others follow suit. I imagine they will also be subject to the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA review and the 404(c). I am also curious if any of these other prospects that you looked at - I think there was one called groundhog mountain, if there are any that are nondestructive to the streams and waters. I am also curious as to why the draft assessment says do not quote or cite, when my job entails some kinds of data that I have to put out when I have to inform other people. I also would like to echo what one very good thing I heard said, being from out of the area, is that the whole thing seems to boil down to Pebble or no Pebble. What I have seen is a lot of tension, stress and hard feelings from a region that I've always thought of as one, that has been able to house a lot of different Alaskan cultures that have such a spirit of hospitality, generosity and strength. It also hurts me to see friendships back away becaus e of our various positions on this. I just want to say that I hope that things get better here, and I want to thank EPA for helping me with the job that I've had to perform and will continue to perform.

[01:05:06.05] Carol Ann Woody

So, I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to comment on the watershed assessment. I am Dr. Carol Ann Woody. I am a fisheries scientist and I've worked in this region since 1991. Since 2006, I have basically worked full time fo cusing on potential impacts from Pebble on the fisheries resource for tribes and non-profits in the area. I've reviewed most of the EPS's watershed assessment, and I have found that the writing, it is very well written. It is concise. It

is clear. It is based on the best available sci ence. You have done a good job. From my perspective, I think the 60-day comment peri od is adequate for the information that you have presented. If anything, I think your assessment of the potential impacts of mineral development to fisheries resources actually is very conservative, almost too conservative. The reason I think this is that you assume that the Pebble prospect would only develop 6.5 tons of their 10.8 billion ton estimated resource. Because all estimates of the mineral wealth, jobs and benefits from that particular resource are based on full exploitation of the 10.8 billion tons. The watershed assessment should consider impacts of expansion to the 10.8 billion ton Pebble Mine scenario. Mines will generally expand and expand as long as they are economically viable, as do the impacts. One thing that I didn't see in the assessment is that waters in the region are very low hardness. They cannot inputs of acid. Pebble Limited Partnership's own data indicate that it will be an acid generating mine. The majority of the ore in there is acid generating. Because the waters have very low hardness and very low dissolved organic carbon, and I studied this,which means there is high potential for rapid impacts. It will start with the algae and then the invertebrates, then the fish and it is something that is very important to consider. The information on wetlands in the region is not well characterized. I've spent a lot of time on the ground at Pebble, the Koktulis and Talarik, and it is very very wet. I think it is even wetter than has been characterized and the impacts will be much greater than have been characterized. As most of you know, of all of the fish bearing streams in Alaska, fewer than half of our streams have ever been surveyed. M any streams in the region hav e never been surveyed and looked at. Just a few years ago I went out and we added 105 miles of anadromous waters that no one had ever identified, including streams on top of the Pebble deposit. In the cumulative impacts section of your assessment, it indicates about 200 miles of streams or rivers could be blocked or destroyed Over 20 hundred acres could be converted to toxic waste dumps, which would require constant vigilance and maintenance into the future, possibly forever. I think it would be good to add to the cumulative effects section, a comprehensive table that adds to 10.8 billion scenario of development for Pebble along with the Groundhog scenario and three others, I can't remember the names right now. But I think that putting a table together so that people could see how many lost streams, how many block ed streams, how many areas of wetlands or estimated areas would be covered, all the way to the scenario, because frankly I think that if the Pebble Mine has 10.8 billion tons and they have potentially more based on new maps that they have, then they will develop all of it. I think it is only fair to the people who live here that they have a good idea of what they may lose. Despite some of the underestimates of likely impacts to fisheries, I think the watershed assessment and also the preponderance of scientific evidence on mining, indicated that BB fisheries would be irreparably harmed by large-scale mining due to how large the mines are; the type, because copper sulfide mines can create acid and copper is the most toxic to aquatic life. Also, where it is located in the headwaters, in a very wet region down the Talarik into Lake Iliamna, which is the world’s largest sockeye salmon rearing lake,

where hundreds of millions to even billions of so ckeye salmon rear 1-2 years before they go to see. If there were to be an impact in Iliamna, it would destroy the Kvichak run. In the Nushagak run, impacts there as you have indicated, it w ould harm not just the Chinook, but many of the other species. Thank you for intervening on behalf of the tribes who were worried about their fish and water resources, and thank you for the good job. It was very interesting. I hope you make some modifications, but I think you can get it done in 60-days.[01:11:42.15] Tina Anderson

(Facilitator reads statement for commenter) I am going to read this statement for Tina Anderson who is Iliamna Natives Corporation Board Member. It is the local native corporation closest to the Pebble. They own 90,000 acres of surface land near the proposed Pebble project. We do not want the 404c imposed on our lands. BBNC, Nunamta and Trout Unlimited and people who live in Dillingham, EPA can impose it on their lands. All these organizations do not speak for us. Dillingham, Nondalton and all the special interest groups are going to create cultural and economic genocide for us. We do not live on subsistence, we need an economy. By the way, BBNC owns subsurface lands and do not have say over our surface lands. They should not be part of this assessment and all of the board me mbers are from Dillingham or Nushagak, who do not have the best interest of us. We want more time to understand what the 404(c) could do to our native lands or people. We would like you to extend the comment period. We also want EPA to do a written statement that this will not be imposed on local native landholders like the Sacketts, who got fined 37,500 a day for supposedly violating the 404(c) Clean Water Act or like the Victoria Curry from Pennsylvania whose Dad was put in jail for violating Clean Water Act for three years and who ended up passing away after being released from jail. Reassure us in a written statement about what 404 regulation could be imposed on us if the 403(c) was regulated. The 402 has to do with subsistence. Stop trying to control us. We do not want any of you to decide what is best for us. We can do that ourselves. Thank you.

[01:14:28.07] Heather Nudlash

My name is Heather Nudlash. I am Denai’ina Athabascan from Nondalton. I currently live in Dillingham. As far back as I can remember we always had fish. My earliest memory as a child is down here in a fish camp. Playing in the water and helping my great grandmother and the rest of my family put up fish. Salmon is a renewable sustainable resource that will last forever if we take care of it, versus a mine that will last a few decades and leave toxic waste forever. Don't ruin it for short term gain. Salmon is about 75% of my food. I look forward to putting up subsistence every year. I hope that my son is able to enjoy the way of life, putting up salmon, doing the whole subsistence thing, and taking care of the land. I hope that he can enjoy clean water the rest of his life, along with my grandkids, his grandkids. Salmon is a super food. Clean water is always good to have. Stop Pebble before it ruins our culture and way of life. Stick toyour timeline and don't extend it. If people want to make comments, they will make time if it is important to them. Protect our fish. Help us in our time of need.

[01:16:09.00] June Tracey

Hi. My name is June Tracey. I've been born and raised in this area here. I am the second daughter of (background noise) and our traditional chief Balluta. My Mom passed on in 1976. I've been listening to everything that has been said. I'm not used to doing ceremonies. All of my chada's and chidas have brought us from generat ion to generation on how to survive, how to live off the land, how to do things in the area. Every season has something to do with survival. I listened to everyone who is making comments and agree with everybody. I wasn't going to do a testimony, but my dad is 89 years old and he can't hardly talk or hear or anything. He said that we have to do something. Now something is being done. He told me well I'm not going to be around what goes on in the future, although he doesn't like to admit that he is getting old, but he is. He still does his subsistence. He still sets out his nets and runs around with his nets and still gets the smokehouse ready. This is something that inspired us children and the grandchildren and my great grandchildren. This is something. It is so very dear to us, because sometimes we take things for granted here. We live here all our lives and we take things for granted. We look at it, we see it and we say, oh, but it is our home and it has been home for generations (speaks in Denai’ina). I am proud of who I am, I am proud to say I am from here, and this is something that everybody has been talking about. This is our land. This is our life. This is thing here has been going on for the last eight years. The people come here and they interview. They want to know how we live. They want to know how we talk and they want to know how we think. But it is up to us as people who live here year round to make this decision. We have EPA here and I really appreciate you guys coming in and being able to voice our opinions and listen to us. At first I thought, they say, we are poor, but I don't think there is such a thing in our Denai’ina ways as poor. We are rich in every which way that you could think of. We don't worry about homelessness. We don't worry about somebody who don't have a home. We don't worry about starvation. This is something that this land gave us. This is our supermarket. I don't know what is going to happen in the next 10-15 year, but I would like for my children to come back from wherever they may be and have my grandchildren run around. Any my great grandchildren, there are two years old still running around with dried fish hanging out of their mouths and enjoying it. I would like to see this go from generation to generation that our young children can run around in this beautiful land and see what it is all about, able to drinkthe water and be able to stand on the beach and have cup of Chai or go down to the water and grab a cup of water, without worrying. Can we eat it, can we drink it? This is something that we really have to think about and something that I have thought a lot down at my fish camp. They

asked me if I'm nervous and I am nervous. I really appreciate this room full of people who travelled all the way up here to listen to this testimony and who are concerned about what is going on in our part of the country. Let's take our native pride back, this is what I mean. This is ours. This is what we are all sitting here for and we are all concerned. Thank you.

[01:22:09.22] Heidi Kritz

Thank you guys for coming to Bristol Bay. My na me is Heidi Kritz and I am from Dillingham. I was raised in Togiak and Aleknagik. Growing up in a traditional family, I was taught how to tell the difference in fish at a very young age and how to process them. My sister and I started with trout, like my grandma says, as you got older you graduated to better eating fish like reds, and more recently kings. At the start of my 8th grade year, I was asked what I knew about the Pebble Mine and I didn't know anything. This is when I learned that it would be the largest mine in North America, it would be seen from space and it would be right on the headwaters of Bristol Bay. I actively became involved in a group called Rebels to Pebble. I continued to educate people on the effects this mine could bring to the environment and to our native people. If this mine goes through, we would be devastated, because it runs the risk of destroying the most important part of our culture and our livelihood. Destroying the land we come from won't only affect my generation, it will affect many generations that come after mine. Please use your authority to help us protect our land. Thank you.

[01:24:03.13] Jasmine Kritz

Hello. My name is name is Jasmine Kritz. I am 19 years old and the oldest of 8 children. I grew up moving back and forth from Togiak and Aleknagik and I currently reside in Dillingham. The fish has been a very big part of my life. At a young age, I was taught by my grandparents how to split fish and the process of drying fish. Unfortunately, if the Pebble Mine is approved and carried through with, I will no longer be able to continue to split or put away fish, let alone teach my own children or grandchildren one day. Because, no matter how safe they say Pebble Mine could be, there is always the possibility of an earthquake or any other kind of naturaldisaster that can cause a leak from the waste made from the mine and there is no way to protect the rivers. I am afraid that my generation could be the last to see the beautiful fish that our Bristol Bay has if the Pebble Mine is approved. Please do what is right so we can keep on subsistence and commercial fishing off of our land. Even though the Pebble Mine could provide jobs for approximately 100 years, that doesn't compare what our BB has provided us since long before I was born and long before my grandparents were born. Bristol Bay will provide for us for the rest of our lives. Thank you for coming and listening.

[01:26:11.10] Melissa Blair

With all due respect to the Nondalton village elders, leaders and residents who depend on the land today, my name is Melissa Blair and I am the representative from the National Parks Conservation Association. Thank you EPA for listening and responding to the tribes of Bristol Bay, the people who asked you to use the Clean Water Act to help protect the clean water and salmon fishery of Bristol Bay. It is so incredibly important to the people and the jobs and the tourism and the communities into the future. Thank you for the watershed assessment. It is comprehensive, well written, and very understandable. You now have scientific information and data and traditional knowledge to understand how unique the Bristol Bay fishery is and how important it is to the ecosystem, jobs and culture. You also understand massive size and scale of the potential mining district and the risk it poses to this region. NPCA. We encourage you to use the Clean Water Act to protect BB. This fight has gone on long enough and it is time for people to have a chance to begin to heal. While the watershed assessment does examine the possibility of not just one massive mine, but a massive mining district being built right alongside Lake Clark National Park, we don't think it goes quite far enough to understand risks that a massive mining district would pose to the National Park, especially the mining plans that are in the headwaters of the Susitna River, a freshwater tributary of the Clark. You would think that living downstream from of a 4 million acre national park, especially one of the best and vast in the country would guarantee that you would have clean water and a clean environment to sustain you for generations. Unfortunately, as you have heard today and you have heard throughout the bay, that is just not the case with what looms just over these hills. The first time I came to Nondalton, I was in the back and I saw some folks walking around with bottles of water. I asked Liz Alexie for one. She said, oh no, absolutely not. You are going to drink our water, because we have absolutely the best water in the world. I hope that you always do. Thank you.[01:29:03.29] Bonnie Gestring

Good afternoon everyone. I would like to thank the EPA for the assessment. I've read the document and it clearly highlights the severe and lasting consequences to wild salmon from mining the Pebble deposit. I am particularly concerned about the likelihood of acid mine drainage becoming a severe and lasting source of pollution to communities below the mine. Acid mine drainage is like opening Pandora's Box. It is long term and it is a problem that can't be fixed once it develops. The nation’s largest s uperfund site is a large copper sulfide deposit that is like the Pebble deposit, which acid mine drainage that will last for tens of thousands of years. One of the findings in the assessment that particularly struck me was the seepage from the waste rock piles, which they estimate in the assessment as being up to 2.8 billion gallons of contaminated water that would be generated every year, which would be a source of contamination to the upper Talarik Creek and down into Lake Iliamna if it is not completely contained forever. There are not examples of long term collection for the mining industries because they just haven't been around for that length of time either. There has been some talk about trying to address that acid mine drainage issue by placing the acid mine drainage generating waste under water either in the open pit or in the tailing pond. I want to emphasize that it is not a fix. Keeping the waste rock underwater while it slows the process, does not stop acid generation. The experience of operating mines, particularly those that are comparable to Pebble, there is ample documentation that industry to indicate that all tailings ponds leak over time. So my take away from the assessment is that all this information that was presented is that the assessment makes a very compelling scientific case for the need for a 404(c) to protect the salmon population productive and sustainable from here on out. I urge the EPA to move forward with the process as quickly as possible. Thank you.

[01:31:49.06] Rick Rau

Thank you. My name is Rick Rau and I live in Koliganek. I've been there five years. I've kind of been adopted into that village. I spent a long time in the military. My history is primarily in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which is right next to Bethlehem. If you are not familiar with Bethlehem, if you have steel built, any type of steel or iron produced between 1930 and 1975, it came from my home town. They mined the ore and coal from that region to the point of devastation. In my home town of Bethlehem, I didn't have a high school reunion and I've beenout of high school a while. A lot of that is attributed to the mining, a lot of that is attributed to degradation of the water systems around. There are state parks nearby that have been affected by the mining. As a resident of Koliganek, I see a history repeat developing. Not just from my history, but from history across the nation. After reading the report and I did read it, I respectfully disagree about how the report is written. There are citations that need to be annotated a lot more thoroughly. I don't see a correct reference to anything that is cited in there and realize that it is draft and you say do not quote or cite anything from that source, but in my professional opinion the writing needs to be absolutely detailed. It seems rushed to me. I think that this assessment, while valid needs to be extremely well documented. I've seen things thrown out in my previous career in law enforcement based on the lack of people doing what they were supposed to do when it comes to documentation. As a federal employee, back when I had a job in the federal government, I saw a lot of time wasted because of red tape and a lot of improperly cited sources and documentation. I ab solutely urge you to reevaluate whoever is writing your report for you and make sure that the citations are accurate and that there is nothing that could be left to be challenged. It seems biased. Starting phrases off with the word because. Detailing information that seems like it could be determined to be one sided could give people in the peer review committee the opportunity to discount that source or that information, based purely on the fact that it was biased. I de finitely urge you to reevaluate that document and look at more of a historical value to it. There is a way to synthesize the information that you are putting out so that you can see others peoples history and how mining has affected their waters and their communities. Don't let that happen to the communities out here that have adopted me and taken me in when I've lost my home.

[01:35:14.20] Luther Hobson Jr.

Hi. My name is Luther Hobson. I was a fisherman for a few years down in Bristol Bay. I want to thank the EPA for coming here and listening to everybody who has something to say. There are so many people that eat from Bristol Bay all over the world and they pay cash money to eat all the different kind of food that comes from Bristol Bay. Maybe the FDA should be sitting at

the table.[01:37:00.25] Tiel Smith

Thank you for the opportunity. You have heard from me in a prior testimony, but I will add a little something this time. First of all, I am Tiel Smith and I was born and raised in the region and am now in Dillingham. Since 2004, I have worked for BBNC as the VP of lands and

resources. I am a tribal member of the Cu ryung and I am a corporation shareholder. I fish in BB on the Kvichak at Graveyard Point, and I have for generations. I look forward to continuing to do that. In the few hours I've been sitting here and listening to testimony, I've gotten here with all these folks when I do meetings for the regional corporations. We talk about the lands and resources and corporate business. I won't talk about that, but I will say that each year I have a chance to talk about my job. It is two th ings basically. It is to continue to oversee the culture, tradition of our people and the use of their land. It is also to find responsible and sustainable development. It is a bit of a challenge to work those two together. BBNC will be in their 40th year along with the other corporations. We celebrate that and have done a tremendous assessment of our oil and gas opport unity and our hard rock mineral potential over the past forty years. But as you can see, if y ou look carefully in our region, there is not a development that we have found and we have spent thousands and millions of dollars looking for something to develop. We have never ov erlooked the fact that salmon and game have been so much as priority in our region. We recognize that. Especially in light of Pebble project being looked at so closely. We not only know about that, we have studied it and we know about many other prospects and exploration targets in the region, none of which today make any sense to develop, based on the necessity to look for increa sed protections to the fish and game. I would conclude this thought by saying; this is significant, because we own the most land in the region as a private landowner, 3 million acres. We do that in conjunction with village corporations who are also for profit corporations looking for good business opportunity, both who want to sustain. At this point we are looking for greater protecti on, so this environmental assessment lends itself very well to that exercise. We know about the state regulations, we know about the federal. We know about the types of protection that they can and can't give, so we are supportive of this type of action. We not only look scientifically and critically at our lands and waters, but we also listen to our shareholders and locals, so we have surveyed them. Not just a large number of our shareholders, but we have also surveyed by indi vidual community. Each individual community has shown over 50% opposition to this particular large development. On a whole 81% are opposed to the Pebble project. At the same time, they support BBNC in their position to responsibly develop and sustainably develop. I find that to be a very good comparison. I wouldconclude with this one last fact, that these are rough numbers. Your meetings within the region have been able to yield about 250 comments. About 10 of those comments are supportive or neutral of mining development showing 9% opposition to large scale development and in particular Pebble in southwest Alaska. I think my numbers are pretty close. You have seen us be a part of these hearings as you've gone around. We appreciate this scientific effort and that is my testimony today.

[01:43:10.27] Russell Nelson

I thank you. My name is Russell Nelson and I am from Dillingham. I sit on the board of directors for the BBNC and not all of us are from Dillingham. We have directors all the way from the east side of Anchorage over to Togiak, so I just wanted to say that since I heard someone say that we were all from Dillingham. I’m sure some of the other board members would object to a statement that they were from Dillingham. Not that Dillingham is a bad place. I grew up there, I love it, not so much just the town, but also getting out to the cabin where we do our subsistence hunting and fishing. Those are the really important parts to our family. This watershed assessment that you are conducting this comment draft, it doesn’t take long to read through. It's well done. I liked the pictures in it and then the three volumes. I went through them, I didn't study them closely, but I did go through them and I thought, what a great set of demographics for this area. A lot of people try to write grants to get money to help our communities, I think you say not to comment of it, but I think when it is finalized we are going to be plagiarizing a whole bunch of it to write our drafts. It's accurate and it's up to date. I think you have done a wonderful job. As far as the timeline for commenting on the assessment, there is not really that much stuff to comment on, except to add some things that you may have left out, such as seismic data could be added. When you look at the Pebble seismic data in that big pile of paper that they sent out, they put in about seven pages of seismic data and two of them they copied from someone else. They make this assumption that the Lake Clark fault comes straight down the lake, which aims at Pebble and all of the other faults just keep on going although they know there are fault lines that run right through Pebble, and in their data they make the assumption that the fault line goes either to the right or to the left very quickly and that it goes around Pebble. I don't see how they can come to that conclusion making an assumption like that. So that kind of data needs to be added. We really appreciate you guys coming and we appreciate you doing this draft assessment and we hope you finish up the assessment and I'm going to comment on your three volumes and it’s not going to take long.Most of it is demographics and you just have to fill in some little holes where it needs to be. July 23, most of the people will be done fishing by then. Also, most people aren't fishing now. They are getting their boats ready but there is time in the evening if you are really concerned and really have an interest and intention to comment on this there is plenty of time for us to comment on it. Thank you.

[01:46:24.11] Kim Williams

Thank you EPA for the Assessment of potential mining impacts on the salmon ecosystems in BB. My name is Kimberly Williams and I am t he Executive Director of Nunamta Aulukestai, which is Yup'ik for caretakers of our land. Nunamta is a non-profit corporation whose membership includes ten Alaska native village corporations and nine tribes located in the BB region of Alaska. Nunamta's mission is to establish a framework to collaborate in the mission in management and protection of lands and natural resources. I am the third chief of the Curyung Tribal Council, and I thank EPA for sitting down with my tribe in government to government consultation. It is too bad that the state of AK can't do the same. I would like to speak of the irony that the state wants more time for public comment. You have scheduled eight public meetings and a 60-day comment period so that we the public could speak to the assessment and we will get another opportunity to comment at the peer review of the document. The state of AK should look to EPA for the right way to get public comment. The state attorney general Geraghty complains that 60 days is inadequate. He had the audacity to ask for four months for the public and state to address the technical and legal merits of this assessment. Yet, the audacity of industry representatives who express t heir alarm that the public isn't given sufficient time to respond. How ironic and how hypocritical. For the last 24 years, the mining companies have been exploring for copper and gold on state lands in the headwaters of BB, hoping to develop the largest mine of its type in North America. They have drilled 1200 bore holes, some more than a mile deep and used fragile tundra and wetlands as their waste dump; criss-crossed subsistence areas with tens of thousands of helicopter flights. Removed millions of gallons of water from streams and ponds that support spawni ng salmon and other freshwater fishes. They have done all that with the states permission. Without public notice, without inviting public comment and without public hearings. While AK regulators have permitted industrial scale exploration, they have never asked the public to comment on whether the state should permit in the headwaters of the world’s premier sockeye salmon fishery, nor have they asked the tribal governments who the federal government recogni zes. Nor have they asked the indigenouspeople who are Yup'ik and Denai’ina, who are real people with an intact and thriving sustainable salmon based culture, which this assessment recognizes and sets out to get our comments about a mine scenario that could produce billions of tons of toxic waste that could be stored forever, held back by an earthen dam. Thank you for gathering the science and a potential mining scenario to address the potential impacts that a large scale mine will do to our salmon streams and the impact it will have on us as a peopl e. We are represented by trustees for AK, and we went to court seeking an adequate opportunity to address the technical and legal merits of the state exploration permit. The issue is on appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court and the state adamantly insists that the public has no right to even know about such permits in advance, let alone comment on them. The state systematic ally avoids any public notice and any hearing before it grants mining exploration and water permits. Do they give 60 days? Never. Even when the state does allow public comment, as it did for development of the Rock Creek gold mine near Nome. The comment period is half as long and the state is downright stingy in granting more time. It allowed the public just three extra days to comment on Rock Creek. They approved the project and then were forced to shut it down when the warnings from the critics proved accurate. Had the state been doing its job for the past two decades, it would have by now its own full record of public participation on the very issues raised by your draft assessment. It would have undertaken its own analysis of whether exploration and development are in the best interest of the state. The state would not then need 60 days to comment on the draft; rather they have been doing everything in their power both politically and through regulation to grease the wheels for development. They are ready to defend their rigorous permitting process and are quick to tell EPA "hands of Alaska" because their rigorous permitting process. But I am here to say, their use of a marine land classification in their own Bristol Bay area plan is their way for them to make it easier for permitting. We all know in this

room that there are no walruses around the Pebble site. That is marine land classification for you. So, if the state of AK is interested in seeking public comment, through their exploration phase of the Pebble deposit, which is a large scale mine that gets addressed in your assessment, they would already know and conclude t hat mining at this scale would cause a loss of spawning and rearing habitat for both anadromous and freshwater fishes. The loss of wetlands that support migratory birds and habitat for caribou and other large game. It is not EPA's role to solve for jobs in our region, nor is it your job to solve the declining population or the closing of our schools in our region. Your role is clean water and the protection of these waters. The regulations need to ensure that we have clean water. Thank you for thisassessment and doing what the state of AK should be doing. Tell them that the comment deadline is July 23. Thank you.

[01:52:42.04] Peter Andrew

Thank you. My name is Peter Andrew. BBNC board director, commercial fisherman and subsistence user. Yesterday, June 6 was a pretty important day that not everybody recognizes. Yesterday, 100 years ago, my father was awakened by mother. This was 1912. Katmai had just blown off. It was dark for three or four days. He said it was something that he would never, ever forget. I ask you guys to take another l ook at the seismic and volcanic activity which is fairly close to this particular project. I'd also like to remind you that the BBNC had not taken a position on Pebble or large scale mining lightly. We studied it for a few years. We agonized over it. With the support of our people, we feel ve ry very, very, confident that a major part of our people want us to take this position and we did. So we are asking EPA along with the BBN, which in March passed a unanimous resolution asking EPA to come in and do the assessment and get it done. We will be asking again to use section 404(c). It is important to our culture and I thank these people for the hospitality. This is our land, this is our people, and this is our place. Please this is your place. This is America's pl ace. President Obama classified Bristol Bay as one of the top national treasures. Please do your duty and protect our federal waters that will be in jeopardy. I thank you and I think I got the last word.

End



### Note: This is not a certified transcript. This record of oral comments was transcribed by Judy Smith, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator fr om audio recordings taken at the EPA public meeting held in Nondalton, Alaska beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7, 2012. Every effort was made to transcribe the testimony a ccurately, but there may be errors or omissions because of background noise during the meeting or the sound quality of the recording.