Comment on Proposed Determination To Prohibit and Restrict the Use of Certain Waters Within Defined Areas as Disposal Sites; Pebble Deposit Area, Southwest Alaska

This public comment letter provides recommendations and support to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 Office in response to their proposed determination to prohibit and restrict the use of certain waters as disposal sites in the Pebble Deposit area of Southwest Alaska, in connection with the proposed Pebble Mine operation — an open-pit gold and copper mine that would be located at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon fishery.  In the letter, CLF describes how implementing the proposed prohibition and restriction would result in critical protections needed not only for the survival of the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon fishery, but also the larger public, environmental, and economic health of the region.