Judge Orders More Review of Dam Risks at Planned Western Alaska Gold Mine

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Developers of the Donlin Gold mine in Western Alaska must pause some of its construction while government agencies correct deficiencies that led to flawed permits for the controversial project, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Court Juge Sharon Gleason on Monday ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Land Management to analyze the possibility of a catastrophic dam failure and, if necessary, withdraw or modify the permits they already issued to Donlin Gold LLC, the project’s developer.

The order stems from a lawsuit filed by six Kuskokwim region tribal governments that oppose the project, which would be one of the world’s biggest gold mines. The plaintiffs have cited, in particular, concerns about the mine’s plan for a 471-foot dam to contain tailings, the term for ground waste rock produced in the mining process.

Tailings can hold concentrations of chemicals like mercury and cyanide that degrade aquatic ecosystems. Tailings spills can occur when mine dams are breached, as happened in 2014 at the Mount Polley copper and gold mine in British Columbia. That dam failure released about 8 million cubic meters of tailings and other waste material.

Gleason’s ruling on Monday was a follow-up to a ruling she issued in September.

Then, the judge ruled that the Corps and BLM erred by neglecting to consider the risks of a large or catastrophic dam failure. The 2018 environmental impact statement that led to the permits being issued that year identified a 2% chance of such a dam failure over a 20-year period; the Donlin mine, if built, is projected to operate for more than 25 years. The agencies, however, did not consider any spill of over 0.5% of the millions of tons contained by the planned dam, a spill that would be far smaller than the size that should have been considered, Gleason said in that ruling.

In her new ruling on Monday, Gleason ordered the agencies to add “analysis of a larger tailings spill” to their previous environmental studies. Before Donlin Gold may undertake any construction work covered by the Corps or BLM permits, the company must issue a 90-day notice, Gleason said.

That required notice would give the plaintiffs time to raise legal objections that might be grounds for further halts to work, said Maile Tavepholjalern, the Earthjustice attorney who is representing the tribal plaintiffs.

Both mine opponents and Donlin Gold, the company trying to build the mine, described Gleason’s ruling as a victory.

“Not all tribes who oppose the Donlin Gold mine are involved in these lawsuits, but most tribes in our region have concerns about the safety of the mine and potential harm to the region,” Gavin Phillip, tribal administrator for Native Village of Kwigillingok, said in a statement. “We hope this court ruling will help ensure that our lands, waters and communities remain protected. This mine does not have social license to operate, and does not reflect our tribe’s priorities, which are hunting, fishing and stewarding these lands and waters as we always have.”

Donlin Gold, meanwhile, pointed out in a statement that Gleason rejected the plaintiffs’ request to overturn the permits and instead allowed them to remain in place while the deficiencies are corrected.

“The Court’s order reiterates that the issue on remand is narrow and we look forward to working with the federal agencies to address the issue,” Todd Dahlman, general manager of Donlin Gold, said in the statement. “As it has been throughout the permitting process, Donlin Gold remains committed to working collaboratively with permitting agencies and stakeholders to advance the responsible development of the project,” which he noted is located on Alaska Native lands.

In her ruling, Gleason said the problem with the environmental impact statement was the failure “to adequately consider one aspect of a complex mining project.” The Corps and BLM have already considered the possibility of a tailings spill, “albeit only a spill of 0.5% of the total tailings volume,” she said in her ruling.

While Gleason declined to overturn the permits, as the plaintiffs has requested, she also declined to set an 18-month deadline for supplemental environmental analysis that Donlin Gold has requested.

The Corps, in a statement late Tuesday, said it will adhere to the court ruling and complete a supplemental analysis of a larger potential dam spill and follow that with action to “modify, reaffirm, or rescind” the previous authorizations.

The Donlin plan has divided the region’s mostly Yup’ik residents.

The mine site is on Native-owned terrirory, and for-profit corporations created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act stand to be economic beneficiaries if it is developed.

The Kuskokwim Corp., a Native village corporation, owns the surface rights, and Calista Corp., the larger corporation owned by Indigenous people of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region, owns the mineral rights.

Numerous tribal governments and organizations, meanwhile, oppose the mine, citing what they say are unacceptable risks of damage to the river habitat that supports fishing and other food-gathering and cultural practices.

The mine’s developer, Donlin Gold LLC, is a partnership owned by Vancouver-based Novagold Resources Inc. and John Paulson, a billionaire investor. Paulson entered the Donlin Gold partnership by buying out shares held by Barrick Resources, a major international mining company that announced in April that it is dropping the project.

Barrick, with operations in 18 countries, was less interested in Donlin than in some of its other opportunities, its chairman said when the sale to Paulson was announced.

 Courtesy: www.alaskabeacon.com