Mining interests misleading public Teck Cominco and others that are bashing the Clean Water Initiative imply that Alaskans cannot read. MINES WILL NOT BE SHUT DOWN NOW OR IN THE FUTURE. The initiative applies to new large-scale metallic mines that have not been permitted. Teck Cominco and others are spending millions of dollars on slick, false advertising trying to convince Alaskans that their lie is the truth. The facts about Teck Cominco and the Red Dog Mine are as follows: They have just recently requested a settlement with certain individuals in the village of Kavilina to stop a lawsuit brought against them for polluting the watershed from the mine site down to the ocean. In my opinion, that constitutes an admission of guilt! Again recently, the National Park Service states that Teck Cominco’s trucks hauling ore are spilling contaminants, polluting the land throughout a national monument. Their latest environment insult, as reported in ADN on May 30, names a Teck Cominco owned smelter for yet another toxic spill of lead and acid into the Columbia River. The Associated Press article mentions that the U.S. Supreme Court, in January 2008, found that Teck Cominco must take responsibility for cleaning up years of waste that they let be dumped into the Columbia River. No wonder Teck Cominco, NANA and others have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into fighting the Clean Water Initiative!! Don’t believe their lies. There is no attempt to shut down mining in Alaska, never will be; just an honest effort to keep fish healthy, and drinking water clean. Maybe NANA should take a closer look at who they partnered up with, no matter how large their royalty checks become.
John Nolan Chugiak |