Alaska judge clears way for gold mining within national park

Conservation groups believe that the beluga whale population of Cook Inlet, already at risk, will be further harmed by mineral excavation.ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CN) — Building an access road, expanded airstrip and tunnel on a private land parcel surrounded by Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park would allow the Contango Ore company to conduct mining and underground drilling for gold and other minerals.Despite pushback from environmentalists concerned for wildlife in the region, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled Monday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the company’s proposal was permissible under environmental law.Though Gleason, a Barack Obama appointee, acknowledged possible environmental red flags — increased airplane noise, acid drainage, metals leaching from mining and other forms of sediment discharge and contamination into Cook Inlet waters — she found that the Army Corps reached no arbitrary or capricious conclusions.“The court finds that the Corps provided a reasoned basis for its definition of the action area and its conclusion that consultation regarding Cook Inlet beluga whales was not required,” Gleason wrote, agreeing that the road, airstrip and tunnel construction plan were under the purview of the Army Corps’ review.Therefore, she said, additional considerations that the plaintiffs had mentioned relating to noise disturbance and beluga whale welfare, among other things, weren’t up for discussion yet.The private land that Contango Ore seeks to build on, known as the Johnson Tract, is owned by an Alaska Native corporation, Cook Inlet Region Inc. The land is located in a western part of the Kenai Peninsula Borough separated by the inlet from the peninsula itself, and is being leased to Contango Ore.The tract sits at the headwaters of, and takes its name from, a salmon-filled river that empties into Cook Inlet, where Alaska’s most imperiled population of beluga whales reside.The plaintiffs, including the Center for Biological Diversity, and local groups Cook Inletkeeper and Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, argued that the Army Corps violated the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act.Granting summary judgment to the Corps and JT Mining Inc. — Contango Ore’s project-specific Alaskan subsidiary that intervened in the case — Gleason also disputed the environmentalists’ claims that geochemical testing reports were brushed aside in the approval.“Plaintiffs have not shown that the Corps’ failure to secure additional mapping or further explanation from JT Mining rendered the Corps’ approval of the permit arbitrary and capricious,” she wrote.Cook Inletkeeper didn’t immediately respond when asked if it would appeal the case. Contango Ore didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads