Stop PacRim Coal and Save the Chuitna River!

45 miles SW of the Cook Inlet across from Anchorage AK; lies the Chuitna River, a pristine watershed that is home to all 5 species of wild Pacific salmon. It is at the headwaters of this river that PacRim Coal proposes to build one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the country. A plan that WILL directly destroy nearly 14 miles of salmon stream in the 1st phase alone & discharge 7 million gallons of mine waste water into the river DAILY. This 1ST-of-its-kind proposal to coal mine directly through a wild salmon stream WILL set a precedent to leave salmon streams across Alaska at risk. THE COAL MINES 1ST PHASE ALONE WILL RELEASE 650 MILLION TONS OF Co2 & THE ENTIRE SUSITNA BELUGA COAL FIELD OF ALASKA COULD RELEASE 87 BILLION TONS OF Co2. THATS MORE THAN DOUBLE THE WORLDS YEARLY Co2 ADMISSION! PacRim Coal wants to completely remove the underlying soil & rock strata to depth of more than 300 feet not only destroying wetlands & streams, but destroying the entire underlying geology. Re-creating the complex three-dimensional diversity of interconnected underground sediments would be impossible!. PacRim’s reclamation plans include the crazy notion that they will return the watershed to its pre-strip mine condition. There has never been a successful salmon stream restoration after such large scale destruction & there are no scientific evidence to suggest it can be restored to its current state of productivity! The food web that sustains the Chuitna River is strongly dependent upon the buildup of accumulated nutrients which are the result of years of decaying salmon carcasses. By completely removing the streambed for miles, these critical nutrient zones will be destroyed and cannot be replaced. Even if pools & overhanging vegetation are re-installed, the replacement streambed will be nothing more than a “sterile” ditch. The first phase of the project will extract 300 million tons of coal over 25 years, making it the largest strip mine in Alaska. The coal is expected to be exported to Asian coal fired power plants where lax pollution controls will lead to more pollution returning to Alaska. Thousands of acres of wetlands will be impacted. Wetlands maintain water quality in streams & ground water by capturing nutrients & metals. Wetlands also bind soils which reduces erosion, improves fish habitat are the source of many of the insects fish rely upon for food. Wet Lands are also homes of many other animals that we all solely depend on. Streams in the Chuitna River watershed that aren’t destroyed outright will be filled with millions of extra gallons water everyday from groundwater in the mine pit that must be removed. PacRim plans to pump 7 million gallons of mine pit groundwater a day into “infiltration galleries” that are highly unlikely to work in this wetland environment, resulting in direct discharge into local streams. Mine pit water is heavily laden with iron, aluminum, zinc & other heavy metals that will negatively impact any stream it flows through. Natural stream flows will be changed by the volume of water continuously pumped into them—pools used for egg rearing may be destroyed. The unnatural stream flow will also disturb natural sedimentation patterns which will kill fish eggs. Runoff from coal piles will be routed through sediment ponds that can not remove dissolved solids before flowing into local streams, these dissolved solids are toxic to fish eggs. Impacts to the watershed and headwater streams from mining will fundamentally alter the chemical, hydrologic and sediment regimes for all downstream reaches. The CHUITNA emerges from a broad expanse of forest & wetlands west of Anchorage & Drains into the cook Inlet. The Region is home to abundant wildlife including Moose, Bears, & Wolves. The area attracts sports fishing & hunting enthusiasts, & supports subsistence hunting & fishing. River Fish stocks enhance Cook Inlet Salmon populations. The CHUITNA's 25 mi length courses from its head waters at the base of the Alaska range to its mouth at Cook Inlet between the remote Alaska Villages of Tyonek & Beluga on the West Shore of the Cook Inlet. The water way & Its tributaries are Vital to the subsistence life styles of Local Residents whose villages are not connected to ALASKAs road system. The Local Climate varies between maritime & continental, with annual rain fall measuring about 100 cm in the CHUITNA river basin. The River cuts through glacial deposits overlain by Tertiary-aged sedimentary rocks. Plateaus between drainages release their water poorly & are prone to extensive bogs, marshes, ponds & lakes but; alluvial corridors along stream courses are free draining.

Please Stop This CHUITNA Coal Mine! It Is not only Salmon on the line.