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SEACC wants the Kensington to be developed responsibly in a way that protects our clean water and Berners Bay. This is why we worked with Coeur Alaska and the regulatory agencies for over a year to develop a paste tailings plan that would be a win-win for both Coeur and Berners Bay. It's also why we still want to help move that plan forward.

SEACC's goals are clear and unchanged - to protect the world-class biological and recreational wonders of Berners Bay. We remain opposed to Coeur's original plan to dump its tailings into Lower Slate Lake because it does not meet this goal. By working together on the plan to store tailings on land as a paste, both Coeur and SEACC met their fundamental objectives: SEACC ensured risks to Berners Bay would be minimized and Coeur found a way to efficiently and economically develop the Kensington Mine. As importantly, the community of Juneau could secure jobs.

The paste tailings plan is also a win for Juneau because it provides certainty for the Kensington. Contrary to Coeur's claims that the Environmental Protection Agency was significantly delaying the project, state and federal regulatory agencies involved say that the paste plan would have been fully permitted by this December. The plan also had the support of conservation groups, so if Coeur wanted the paste plan to happen, it could have done so without a fight.

Compare this to the uncertainty surrounding the lake dumping plan. A decision from the Supreme Court will not come for months. If the court rules against Coeur, the Kensington is back to square one. The lake plan also creates uncertainty for Berners Bay. Science on whether the lake could be restored is inconclusive, and Coeur has had pollution issues with acid at the construction site near Lower Slate Lake. It is unknown what affect this new pollution could have on Berners Bay if the lake is used as a tailings waste dump.

The win-win paste plan proves that outdated "jobs vs. environment" arguments do not apply to the Kensington. Under the paste plan, Coeur would hire more people to manage the paste facility and have them working sooner than waiting for permits to dump its tailings in the lake. With the paste tailings permitting almost complete, Coeur had less reason to lay off workers. This is why SEACC asked Coeur to sit down and resolve its misunderstanding with EPA, and another reason why SEACC is still looking for practical ways to move the paste plan forward to make this win-win a reality.

But Coeur abandoned the paste plan and refused to meet with the EPA to resolve any misunderstandings. Coeur laid off workers, but has not answered, "Why?" We have many questions: Why is the company abandoning the paste plan? What specifically in EPA's comments does Coeur see as causing delay? Why didn't Coeur talk with EPA about its comments before pulling out of the paste plan? Why did Coeur not accept offers to help get the paste plan up and running? Why does Coeur insist on gambling with the Supreme Court when it could have a broadly supported mine in operation on a faster timeframe? And why did Coeur lay off workers when proceeding with the paste plan could have kept people at work?

Coeur may have legitimate answers to these questions, and if so, Juneau deserves to hear them. We're willing to hear Coeur's concerns and incorporate them into a plan to keep the paste plan a win for Berners Bay, a win for Juneau, and a win for Coeur. SEACC has done its part to develop the win-win compromise and to move it through the permitting process, but without Coeur's cooperation, or at least explanation, this commonsense solution we all agreed to and worked so hard to develop will fail.

So what is next? The ball is in Coeur's court.

• Rob Cadmus is the mining and water quality organizer for the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. He lives in Juneau.