August 14, 2002
Wednesday - 12:05 am

Anchorage - Gov. Tony Knowles announced on Tuesday that the State of Alaska is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a recent lower court decision that threatens the autonomy of the state's approved permit program. The case concerns a new diesel generator installed to provide additional power at the Red Dog mine near Kotzebue, Alaska.

Gov. Tony Knowles looks on as DEC Commissioner Michele Brown speaks about the Red Dog mine air quality permit... Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor

The mine, which provides hundreds of jobs in northwest Alaska and boasts a 60 percent Native shareholder hire rate, is the world's largest producer of zinc.

"At stake in this suit is Alaska's ability to use common sense permitting to protect the quality of our air," said Knowles, who consulted with Attorney General Bruce Botelho in deciding whether to appeal the court decision. "We want to issue permits based on cost-effective and actual environmental results, not on the latest pet technology that's unproven in Arctic conditions and unnecessarily expensive."

According to the news release, in 1998, mine operator Teck Cominco, Inc. requested a new air quality permit to install a seventh diesel generator at the mine for additional and backup power. The Department of Environmental Conservation, the state agency that issues air quality permits under the Clean Air Act, invested considerable time and research developing an air quality permit which allows for more power generation at the mine without causing a significant increase in emissions.

Eventually, the state required that emission controls be installed on the mine's new diesel

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generator, as well as on the existing six generators. Under the state's permit, nitrogen oxide emissions would not exceed local or national standards, even with the new power being generated.

But the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) objected, filing an order to block the permit and threatening fines if Teck Cominco powered up the new generator. EPA mandated that a new technology - selective catalytic reduction - be used on the new generator. This new technology is unproven in Arctic conditions. And under EPA's plan, the six older generators would be allowed to emit more than under the state permit.

"The state's permit achieves less nitrogen oxide emissions from the facility overall than EPA's mandated plan," said Knowles, who was joined in his announcement by Michele Brown, Commissioner of the Dept. of Environmental Conservation. "Amazingly, the result of the EPA's action is more emissions, not less, and at a greater cost." The EPA's technology will cost up to $1.5 million more a year in operating costs and up to $10 million more in construction costs than the state's solution.

The state originally sued the federal EPA over this issue in 2000, after a series of meetings with EPA and Teck Cominco failed to resolve the issue. On July 30, 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that EPA had acted correctly in requiring Teck Cominco to install the new technology.

"It's unfortunate we are forced to take these steps," said Knowles. "For two years, we've been trying to negotiate a resolution with the EPA that recognizes common sense and Alaska's unique conditions and protects Alaskan jobs."

The generator, which has already been shipped to Red Dog, remains idle.

Source of News Release:

Office of the Governor
Web Site

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