Request States Army Corps Failed to Consider Concerns Prior to Issuing Mining Permit
DOT LAKE, AK (July 8, 2024) – On July 1, 2024, the Native Village of Dot Lake, a federally recognized tribe, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its issuance of a permit for the Manh Choh Mine under the Clean Water Act without meaningfully consulting with the Tribe or conducting the environmental reviews necessary to adequately analyze the impacts of the mine. These impacts include the serious risks that an open mine pit can have on the environment and the communities that rely on subsistence hunting and fishing in the Region.
“The risk is significant — the Army Corps’ permit allows Kinross to fill five acres of wetlands and federal waters, which could pollute surface and ground waters with mining waste in the Tok and Tanana Rivers as well as Tetlin Lake watersheds,” Dot Lake Village President Tracy Charles-Smith said. “Without the completion of a full Environmental Impact Statement, neither Dot Lake nor the Army Corps actually know the possible impacts of the mining or appropriate mitigation efforts that should be undertaken.”
The Native Village of Dot Lake is located in Interior Alaska about 150 miles southeast of Fairbanks and immediately adjacent to the Alaska Highway. About 50 miles south of Dot Lake, Kinross Gold Corp. and Peak Gold LLC are developing two open pit gold mines near Tok, a small town also located on the Alaska Highway. Dot Lake filed this suit because of concerns about the environmental impacts of these open pit mines; because of concerns about a risk of increased domestic and sexual violence the accompanying man camps bring to their community; and because of a lack of meaningful consultation with the surrounding federally recognized tribes.
“We are not against mining,” said Charles-Smith. “What we want is for consideration to be given to the air, water and land we all share. It is a fact that crime, particularly sexual assault and human trafficking, dramatically increases with the development of these types of man camps. The ore being hauled from the mine is toxic. Already, the B-Trains are hauling it with their tarps torn. They travel every 12 minutes, every day of the year, and this will continue for five years or longer. By permitting the project without taking the steps required under ANILCA, the Army Corps has prioritized commercial mining interests over subsistence uses. We are responsible for keeping our community safe and we will hold the United States accountable for keeping its trust responsibility to all tribes.”
For more information about this suit or the Native Village of Dot Lake, please contact KD Reep at Kelli@FlywriteCommunications.com or 501-766-1260.
The Native Village of Dot Lake is an interior Athabascan Tribe along the Tanana River, located 156 miles south of Fairbanks, working to protect the environment and to preserve the traditional way of life of all Natives in Alaska.
NOTE: attached photos are aerial shots of the mine as well as a torn tarp of a B-Train hauling toxic ore. Please zoom in to see the hole in the tarp.
