Here is a research project for all of us: Palin, Wasilla, Mining and Toxic waste

[liberal N proud]

I was talking to a guy this AM who has a daughter who lives in Wasilla. He didn't give me a lot of details but here is what I do have.

There is a mining operation near Wasilla that they had to dig a pit to contain the toxic waste from processing the mineral being mined. The pit supposedly is built on a fault right next to a major salmon breeding river. Palin some involvement.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept is to help us determine if this is in fact true which I would not be surprised that it is.
Then we do some mining of our own for some golden Palin moments in Alaska history and toxic waste.


I will be digging to and post any updates here.

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Some info I just found:
'Governor's hat' off, Palin blasts Clean Water initiative
by Jason Lamb
Friday, Aug. 22, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-- The governor has come out against the so-called Clean Water initiative.

Gov. Sarah Palin spoke out against it earlier this week, drawing sharp criticism from a group that supports Ballot Measure 4.

It is against the law for the governor to officially advocate for or against a ballot measure; however, Palin took what she calls "personal privelege" to discuss one of this year's most contentious initiatives, which voters will decide Tuesday.

"Let me take my governor's hat off just for a minute here and tell you, personally, Prop 4 -- I vote no on that. I have all the confidence in the world that (the Department of Environmental Conservation) and our (Department of Natural Resources) have great, very stringent regulations and policies already in place," Palin said. "We're going to make sure that mines operate only safely, soundly."
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?s=8885438


From a discussion blog:

: Why is the proposed Pebble Mine of such concern to the initiative’s sponsors?
A: There has never been a large-scale mine of this type that has not polluted the surrounding water. And, no large-scale metallic mine has ever been built in an area that is so environmentally sensitive and hostile to mining. There are several factors that make this area especially vulnerable. Specifically:

On average, there is 40 inches of precipitation each year, and the water table is at or near ground level. Water management issues are extremely challenging, making it difficult if not impossible to effectively manage the waste.
The proposed tailings dam would be 750 ft high and 4.3 miles wide, containing a 14-mile long lake of toxic effluent from the concentrator plant. The toxic waste in this dam would have to be safeguarded forever.
The overburden dumps will never stop generating acid drainage or stop leaching heavy metals; therefore, perpetual monitoring and maintenance of both the tailings dam and the dumps would be necessary.
The Pebble site is located in one of the most seismically active areas in the world with one of the highest frequencies of earthquakes. The proposed tailings dam, holding back billions of tons of toxic waste, will inevitably fail, with devastating consequences.
Toxic metals are used in the mining process, including cyanide, which is used to extract gold. Other toxins are created as part of the mining process itself.
Salmon eggs are sensitive to toxins in the water, sedimentation, changes in PH levels, and changes in water temperature. Pebble Mine would not only dump toxins into the water and lower PH levels, but would likely deposit sediment into spawning areas, which raises the water temperature and covers the eggs so they cannot hatch. In addition, adult salmon are sensitive to even low levels of copper. All of it adds up to disaster for salmon.
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/environmental-issues/48025-palin-good-mining-bad-environment.html

[grannie4peace]

1. i think i read something about

the salmon breeding ---it was on du , last night-- i'll see if i can track it down :):)

[shey1218]

2. good idea... i'm gonna get on it too