I recently learned that a group has approached the Juneau Assembly with a proposal to re-write Juneau’s mining ordinance. I was involved in the original Mayor’s Scoping Committee to develop a mining ordinance in 1989. The issue was reviewed again in 2003 and again in 2011 and the current ordinance is the result of an incredible amount of hard work and time on the part of a large number of Juneau residents. This issue was extremely divisive for our community in the past and will be so again.
If the Assembly is intent on honoring this group’s request, they must carefully consider a process involving pulic participation, rather than responding to special interest pressure to undo what was created by a committee of balanced concerns and expertise.
The current ordinance does not prevent mining in the Juneau area, but rather establishes a structure for balancing social and environmental impacts. The proposed removal of “duplicative language” from the current ordinance would reduce the CBJ’s ability to review any potential mining projects. Because our drinking water passes through mining adits in the mountains surrounding Juneau, it is absolutely critical for the city and its residents to regulate exploration and development of any potential mine positioned in the area around downtown Juneau.
Juneau residents, I urge you to contact the Assembly, mayor and city manager. Encourage them to slow down and think about the proposal before them. The people of Juneau deserve thoughtful work in revising the mining ordinance, with an end product that continues to assure the safety of our drinking water and environment.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Luann McVey
Juneau