Solution to Usibelli debate is simple

To the editor:

In response to a lawsuit claiming that Usibelli Coal Mine is operating at the Wishbone Hill site without a valid permit, a spokesman for the corporation states that the “state of Alaska and Usibelli stand on our valid permits.” That is precisely the problem: UCM and the state stand together — too close together for the process to be fair.

For that reason, local grassroots organizations opposing the mine took their complaint to the federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM), hoping for an objective and fair assessment of whether the mining permits were valid. When they received no response from that agency in four months’ time, they took the case to court.

As to why it was taking so long, OSM official Kenneth Walker recently stated that the agency is working hard to “arrive at a decision. It is a complex case.” He went on to state that if “the permits are not valid, then they are not authorized to mine out there.”

In reality, the case is simple. If there was mining on the site within the time the Alaska statutes require, then the permits are valid. If not, they are not. Complexity can only arise out of attempts to justify a permit that is clearly not valid.

The solution is simple. UCM should withdraw its renewal permit application (as the corporation has already done with its faulty air quality permit application) and submit a new, up-to-date mining permit application.

The application currently pending is more than 20 years old. The neighborhood and the environment (particularly with the recent restoration of Moose Creek) have dramatically changed during that time. Much of the data in the application is far too inadequate and, in some instances, inaccurate to allow a reasonable evaluation of whether a mine at Wishbone Hill can be operated safely.

UCM, which likes to see itself as a responsible, Alaska corporation with the good of its people in mind, should act on those principles. Set everyone’s mind at ease and provide current and accurate information as a basis for evaluating whether permits should be issued.

Kirby Spangler

Palmer