Donlin Gold mine

The project is a joint venture between NovaGold Resources, Barrick Gold, and Calista Corporation. Calista is one of 13 regional Alaska Native corporations established as part of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) and under ANCSA has title to the subsurface estate in the region.[1]

On April 12th, 2021, an administrative law judge recommended that the State of Alaska rescind the project's water quality certificate, required under the Clean Water Act, on the grounds that the State “erred in their hasty issuance” of the certificate, asking the State “to ensure protection of salmon streams.”[4] The public was given only 15 days to comment, during COVID-19 lockdown, on 12 different water rights permits for a mine that, if developed, would be one of the largest in the world, placed in the watershed of a major, salmon-bearing river.[5]

While there is not widespread public awareness about the environmental concerns of the Donlin mines proposed operations, there is considerable local controversy.[6] One main concern, voiced in the public comment section of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) issued by Donlin Gold Project, is that it may exceed Alaska's water and air quality regulations.[7] The project's Clean Water Act permit has been challenged by the Orutsararmiut Native Council (ONS) on the grounds that there is no reasonable assurance that the project will comply with state water quality standards or Alaska's Antidegradation Policy. The proposed decision for the case is that Donlin Gold Project and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Water, in issuing a certificate for Donlin, have not provided the necessary 'reasonable assurance' that water quality standards will be honored in order to proceed with mining operations. Three areas of concern are mercury levels in the water, water temperatures, and degradation of essential salmon habitat.[8]

Mercury is designated as a toxic substance under the Department of Environmental Conservation 2020 Water Quality Standards.[9] The levels of dissolved mercury in freshwater, as defined by the Alaska Water Quality Standards is 1.4 μg/l for acute pollution (measured as the 1 hour average) or 0.77 μg/l for chronic pollution (measured as the 4 day average).[9] Mercury levels already exceed the water quality standards in some instances in the watershed near the proposed site of the mine. Mining operations may increase mercury levels in the watershed, and this has been used to argue that there is not reasonable assurance that water quality standards will be honored.[8]

Another argument put forward by the ONS is that, due to a combination of mine operating procedures and a decrease in riparian habitat along the watershed, water temperature in the related watershed is predicted to increase, according to Donlin Gold Project's Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), close to or above Alaska's water quality standards.[10][8]

Alaska has an antidegradation policy in compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act.[11] According to federal regulations, all states must have an antidegradation policy, and this policy must, among other things, protect existing uses of any water body.[12] Taking the existing use of salmon habitat into account, the ONS argues that the actions of the mining project do not provide reasonable assurance of compliance with the antidegradation policy, due to dewatering of the watershed, and removal of riparian habitat, which will significantly impact the salmon population.[8]