Hearing on Red Dog contaminates postponed

THE SOUNDER STAFF

April 18, 2008 at 10:02AM AKST

A hearing on Red Dog Mine scheduled for Monday, April 7, was cancelled, much to the chagrin of Senate House Speaker John Harris.

The House Resource Committee hearing was requested by the Valdez Republican in response to recent anti-mining television ads.

The hearing was unexpectedly cancelled by House Resources Committee co-chair Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage.

In his April 1 letter requesting the hearing, Harris told Palin that if the opponents of mining are determined to bring the issue to the front burner for Alaskans, they must be held to a standard of truthfulness.

Harris requested that the committee determine either the truthfulness of the information in the ad or determine whether there is a problem with inadequate regulatory oversight.

Officials from NANA Regional Corp. and Teck Cominco Alaska, the company operating Red Dog Mine, expressed disappointment during a visit to Juneau for the hearing Monday.

"We have a good story of environmental stewardship that needs to be told," said Walter Sampson, vice president of lands and natural resources for NANA.

"As landowners, we hold Teck Cominco to the highest standard when it comes to protecting the environment and the subsistence lifestyle of our shareholders."

Rosie Barr, resources manager for NANA, said in a statement that she believes officials with Alaska’s Departments of Natural Resources, environmental conservation and Alaska’s department of Fish and Game, also in Juneau to attend the hearing, were prepared to dispute the misleading claims that had been put forth in the ads.

According to Barr, these officials would have presented facts that demonstrate the improved water quality and healthy fish populations.