{"id":283,"date":"2026-06-04T04:09:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=283"},"modified":"2026-06-04T04:09:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:09:01","slug":"donlin-gold-defends-its-state-water-permit-in-alaska-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=283","title":{"rendered":"Donlin Gold defends its state water permit in Alaska Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The largest tribe in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta squared off against Donlin Gold and the state of Alaska Wednesday in the state\u2019s Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Read more The Anchorage Weekender: A happy hour for dogs, a salmon derby and 8 more events in the city<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bethel-based tribe, Orutsararmiut Native Council, argued that the Donlin Gold mine \u2013 which would be about 180 miles upriver from Bethel \u2013 should not have received a state water permit.<\/p>\n

Earthjustice attorney Tom Waldo, representing the tribe, said the proposed mine would draw from Crooked Creek, \u201cde-watering\u201d salmon spawning sites and potentially killing tens of thousands of eggs and fry.<\/p>\n

Waldo told the justices that Donlin could propose another approach that protects salmon spawning in Crooked Creek, a tributary of the Kuskokwim River.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if they cannot find those solutions, the mine should not be certified,\u201d he said. \u201cIt violates the Clean Water Act, and it harms ONC and the other tribes and villages who need those salmon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more In bid for re-election, Alaska U.S. Rep. Nick Begich defends against 14 challengers<\/a><\/p>\n

Lawyers for Donlin and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation argued that the water permit was properly issued. They said that the anti-degredation rule in federal law, which the state administers, wasn\u2019t written for situations like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t have pollutants going into Crooked Creek. That’s not what’s at issue in this,\u201d Donlin attorney Eric Fjelstad said. \u201cWe have a fill project right next to the creek that takes water, has the potential \u2014 and to underscore it’s not all the time. It’s one year and 10. It’s 10% of the time. This whole scenario that we’ve been talking about \u2014 90% of the time doesn’t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The justices did not say how they\u2019d rule but will issue a written opinion at a later date.<\/p>\n

The Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition and other anti-mine activists are planning a Rally for the River in Bethel for Friday, June 5.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018You\u2019d be crying at the pump\u2019: This Alaska village\u2019s gas was $8.44 \u2014 before the Iran war<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bethel\u2019s ONC tribe argues the proposed mine\u2019s removal of water from Crooked Creek, a Kuskokwim tributary, damages salmon spawning areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDonlin Gold defends its state water permit in Alaska Supreme Court - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=283\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Donlin Gold defends its state water permit in Alaska Supreme Court - 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