Anchorage, Alaska – Teck Cominco Alaska Incorporated, NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., the Northwest Arctic Borough and five plaintiffs from Kivalina, Enoch Adams, Jr., Leroy Adams, Andrew Koenig, Jerry Norton, and Joseph Swan, today announced a settlement agreement resolving litigation under the Clean Water Act currently before the U.S. District Court for Alaska.
The settlement was described as a "win-win" agreement by all the parties. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Teck Cominco Alaska has committed to design, permit and, if permitted, construct a water discharge pipeline along the state-owned Delong Mountain Transportation System corridor (DMTS) from its Red Dog Mine in Northwest Alaska to the DMTS port on the Chukchi Sea, 52 miles southeast of the mine.
Once constructed, the pipeline would enable the mine to bypass Red Dog Creek and transport treated water to the ocean for discharge on a year-round basis, while alleviating the plaintiffs’ concerns about the mine’s existing discharge practices on their primary source of drinking water. The parties have agreed to work cooperatively and to actively support the design, construction and operation of the pipeline.
A proposed consent decree dismissing with prejudice all claims asserted in the lawsuit has been lodged with the Court. The settlement agreement and proposed consent decree are subject to review by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice, and must receive the approval of the Court.
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For further information on the settlement and consent decree, please see the Red Dog operations page or visit www.reddogalaska.com.
Contacts:
Jim Kulas
Red Dog Mine
907-351-8866
Luke Cole
Center on Race, Poverty, and Environment
415-346-4179 x2
