New Ads Urge EPA to Finish the Job and Veto Pebble Mine

Broad-based coalition rolls out new media campaign on TV, print, and digital platforms in Washington DC, calling on EPA to “Finish the Job” and permanently protect Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine.

The Bristol Bay Defense Fund—a broad coalition of local, state and national groups representing Bristol Bay Tribes, commercial fishermen, businesses, and conservation nonprofit organizations—launched a new media campaign this week urging President Biden to fulfill his campaign promise and EPA to permanently end the threat of the Pebble Mine—a giant gold and copper mine proposed at the headwaters of the world’s greatest wild salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

The multi-week TV, print, and digital “Finish the Job” media campaign, which targets the DC beltway, includes paid advertising in the Washington Post, New York Times, Politico and CNN.

The new “Finish the Job” campaign urges the Biden administration to protect Bristol Bay before the end of September by vetoing the Pebble Mine using the EPA’s authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act.

Bristol Bay is the world’s most valuable salmon fishery, supplying 57% of the world’s wild sockeye salmon, generating $2.2 billion in annual economic activity, and supporting 15,000 American jobs. But the Pebble Mine—and its more than 10 billion tons of toxic mining waste—would destroy it all.

This powerful video running on CNN reminds the Biden administration that the fate of commercial fishermen, small businesses, and a multibillion-dollar fishery is at stake:

“We are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to do their job, so we can do ours,” said Captain Katherine Carscallen, who is 3^rd generation commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay.

In addition to supporting a multibillion-dollar economy and fishing businesses, the 404(c) process offers a clear opportunity to respect and stand with Tribes and Indigenous communities in stopping the Pebble Mine. Given the Biden administration’s stated commitment to Tribal Nations, 404(c) action should be a no-brainer.

The “Finish the Job” ad campaign follows a letter sent from the United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB) to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging him to visit the region to experience “first-hand why Bristol Bay needs protections now and for future generations.”

As UTBB noted in its letter to EPA:

Salmon are the lifeblood of Bristol Bay’s Native people, serving not just deeply held religious and cultural significance, but also as the primary economic resource for many Native communities….It has now been 10 years since the EPA first visited Bristol Bay to investigate proposed mining operations and the danger they posed to the watershed. It has been nearly 6 years since President Obama visited and called for protections. It has been nearly a year since President Biden, while campaigning for office, pledged to protect Bristol Bay. Today, our people and salmon remain at risk….The people who have lived in Bristol Bay for millennia and those who work here are united in their desire to see you exercise your authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to protect our watershed and all it sustains.

The “Finish the Job” ad campaign amplifies UTBB’s request.

Bristol Bay needs—and deserves—lasting protections that stop the Pebble Mine and prevent future threats of large-scale mining.

Although the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the Pebble Mine permit last year, that denial was a temporary reprieve and not a permanent solution. Pebble is currently appealing that decision. And that permit denial does not prevent Pebble—or any other mining company—from seeking a new permit. The sword of Damocles continues to hang over Bristol Bay.

EPA has the power to stop the Pebble Mine and protect Bristol Bay using its authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act. Issuing Clean Water Act 404(c) protections would deliver a win-win-win for the environment, the economy, and tribal sovereignty.

The time is now for EPA to act.