Administration Announces Action to Help Protect Bristol Bay Salmon Fisheries

WASHINGTON — The EPA Jan. 31 issued a final determination under the Clean Water Act to help protect Bristol Bay, the most productive wild salmon ecosystem in the world. With this action, the Biden-Harris Administration is protecting certain waters that are important to sustaining Southwest Alaska’s salmon resources from disposal of dredged or fill materials associated with developing the Pebble deposit.

The Bristol Bay watershed’s fishery resources are a thriving economic driver for the region, generating significant nutritional, cultural, economic and recreational value. The total economic value, including subsistence uses of the Bristol Bay watershed’s salmon resources, was estimated at more than $2.2 billion in 2019 and results in 15,000 jobs annually. The Bristol Bay Watershed is home to 25 Alaska Native villages and communities and supports one of the last intact, sustainable salmon-based cultures in the world. Salmon provides more than half of the subsistence harvest for some Alaska Native communities in the Bristol Bay region.

After reviewing the Recommended Determination provided by EPA’s Region 10 office, including the scientific and technical information spanning nearly two decades, EPA has determined that the discharges evaluated in the final determination will have unacceptable adverse effects on salmon fishery areas in the South Fork Koktuli River, North Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds of Bristol Bay. Ecologically valuable streams, wetlands, and other aquatic habitats, like those found in these watersheds, provide the foundation for the productive fishery areas in the region.

Final Determination

The Final Determination prohibits certain waters of the United States in the South Fork Koktuli River and North Fork Koktuli River watersheds from being used as disposal sites for the discharge of dredged or fill material for the construction and routine operation of Pebble Limited Partnership’s mine plan described in its June 8, 2020 CWA Section 404 permit application. It also prohibits future proposals to construct and operate a mine to develop the Pebble deposit that would result in the same or greater levels of loss or change to aquatic resources. The final determination also restricts the use of certain waters of the United States in the South Fork Koktuli River, North Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds as disposal sites for the discharge of dredged or fill material associated with future proposals to develop the Pebble deposit that would result in adverse effects similar or greater in nature and magnitude to those associated with the 2020 Mine Plan.

In the 50-year history of the Clean Water Act, EPA has used its Section 404(c) authority judiciously. This action marks the third time in 30 years, and only the 14th time in the history of the Clean Water Act, that EPA has used this authority. This highlights the value of the Bristol Bay watershed’s fishery resources.

The prohibition and restriction in EPA’s Final Determination only apply to certain discharges of dredged or fill material associated with developing the Pebble deposit. This action does not apply to any current or future resource development projects in the state of Alaska.

A copy of the final determination is available on EPA’s Bristol Bay website at: www.epa.gov/bristolbay.