Environment
RSSAlaska News covers environmental issues including erosion control, hazardous waste management, polystyrene bans, wildfire education, farmland policy.
Court-ordered review models what a large Donlin Gold dam failure would do downstream
A court-ordered review modeled what a Donlin Gold dam failure would do downstream. The Corps calls any failure extremely unlikely; the worst cases are severe.
by Walter AlaskaNews4h ago4 min read
FAA hires Calista-owned firm for next round of decades-old Cold Bay fuel cleanup
The FAA has been cleaning up leaked fuel at its Cold Bay station since the '90s. A Calista-owned Anchorage firm just got $471,000 for the next chapter.
by Alaska News4d ago3 min read
EPA proposes $21,618 penalty over Red Dog Mine spill into Red Dog Creek
EPA proposed a $21,618 penalty against Teck Alaska Inc. for a May 2025 leak of process water into Red Dog Creek near Kotzebue after a pump failure at the mine.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5d ago2 min read
Unalaska renewed the seafood waste line easement for another decade
If the seafood waste line under Unalaska's roads ever breaks, Westward Seafoods cleans it up. The city rents it the ground for $2,250 a year.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 5d ago2 min read
EPA Rule Would Drop Discharge Permits for 65 Alaska Trawlers
EPA wants to delete six words from a rule. If it does, 65 Alaska factory trawlers lose the permit that keeps their fish waste away from sea lions.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5d ago3 min read
Federal environmental review begins for the Arctic copper mine near Kobuk
The Army Corps is starting its environmental review of the Arctic copper mine near Kobuk, with a final decision targeted for September 2028.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Interior proposes dropping the Arctic relief rig rule and a whaling check
Interior's proposed Arctic drilling rule would drop the standby relief rig and a whaling-ground discharge check, with subsistence losses scored at zero.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago5 min read
Helicopter work at Erie Mine Bunkhouse brings noise to Kennicott Valley
Helicopter crews are clearing fallen rock at Erie Mine Bunkhouse this month. Kennicott Valley residents and pilots should expect added aircraft activity.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Craig's council asked Washington to keep the Tongass roadless rule
A former Craig timber cutter says four decades of logging left less deer food on the forest floor, not more. His council agreed with him, 4-1.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
NOAA funds Alaska work on what stranded marine mammals ate
A stranded Alaska killer whale died of sepsis after swallowing three kinds of fishing hooks. NOAA is paying the state to keep examining these animals.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min read
State moves to permit an antimony ore crusher near Port MacKenzie
The state tentatively approved an air permit for an antimony ore crusher near Port MacKenzie, without publishing any estimate of what it would put into the air.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
A Tanana company will dig diesel out from under old BIA school sites
The government left diesel in the ground under old BIA schools in Western Alaska. It is paying a Tanana company $247,786 to dig some of it out.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Kaktovik flushes millions of gallons of glycol-tainted water after plant mistake
Kaktovik is flushing glycol-tainted water after a plant error. The borough calls the level low-risk for adults; it topped every federal guideline.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Three Alaska National Guard wetland surveys go out to bid, with proposals due Sept. 21
Alaska Army National Guard is buying wetland surveys at three aviation facilities in Kotzebue, Bethel and Nome, budgeted at $45,000 to $50,000 each, with proposals due 2 p.m. Sept. 21.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Draft permit would let Fairbanks discharge 11.2 million gallons a day into the Tanana
Fairbanks could keep discharging up to 11.2 million gallons of treated sewage a day into the Tanana River under a draft state permit.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Sitka takes household hazardous waste free for two days next month, but not lithium-ion batteries
Sitka opens free household hazardous waste collection Saturday and Sunday at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, accepting oils, paints, antifreeze, and batteries except lithium-ion types.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
NOAA is paying $735,000 for more cleanup at a site Alaska will not close
NOAA is paying $735,000 for another year of cleanup at a former weather office site, where the state has refused to close out one building yet.
by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min read
Pile driving at a Juneau fuel dock could damage seals' hearing
Federal regulators estimate a Juneau fuel dock rebuild could expose marine mammals to pile driving noise 1,660 times, 852 of them at injuring levels.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Juneau's wastewater permit would be renewed despite a record of violations
Juneau's permit to discharge treated wastewater into Gastineau Channel would be renewed, though the plant has broken its limits in 12 of the last 13 quarters.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Red Dog's port has carried a top-tier air violation for years with no penalty
The port shipping Red Dog's ore has carried a top-tier EPA air-pollution violation for dust for nearly six years, with no formal state enforcement.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
Doyon says the Rig 26 tundra cleanup is in its final phase
Doyon says cleanup where its Rig 26 toppled near Nuiqsut has reached its final phase, though the state hasn't independently confirmed the company's account.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
NOAA proposes letting Seward cruise dock pile driving run into 2027
NOAA proposed extending Seward's cruise dock construction permit through September 2027 to finish pile driving that disturbs marine mammals in Resurrection Bay.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
Anchorage's wetlands plan describes a permit the city cannot issue
Anchorage's wetlands plan still assumes the city issues its own fill permits. It has not since 2021, and a patch goes to the Assembly Tuesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
The Forest Service approved logging it says may restrict subsistence hunting
The Forest Service approved Revillagigedo logging its own analysis says may significantly restrict subsistence deer hunting. A tribe and two groups sued.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
PFAS found in three Anchorage Bowl wells, one pulled from service
Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility found PFAS in three groundwater wells, pulled one from service, and is seeking $4 million in emergency contracts for water system work.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Ketchikan tribe sues Forest Service over South Revilla logging near Ketchikan
Ketchikan Indian Community sued the Forest Service over logging that would cut 44% of winter deer habitat on Revillagigedo Island, threatening subsistence hunting.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Researchers get $812,016 to study Glacier Bay's iceberg seal habitat
Glacier Bay's harbor seals pup on icebergs. The glacier making those icebergs slowed 45 percent, and researchers got $812,016 to study what that means.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Hilcorp wants to fill 95 acres of Arctic wetlands for a gravel mine — comment by Sept. 4
Hilcorp wants to fill about 95 acres of Arctic tundra wetlands near Prudhoe Bay for a gravel mine, with no offset for the loss. Comment is open until Sept. 4.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
As the Chena's king salmon collapse, Fairbanks debates how wide a riverfront buffer to require
Fairbanks is rewriting its Chena riverfront plan, weighing how wide a streamside buffer to require — as the river's kings collapse and property owners watch.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
The federal government wants to lift roadless protections, including in the Tongass
USDA wants to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule across 58.5 million acres, including the Tongass. Alaskans have until Sept. 21 to weigh in on it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Teller waits until 2027 for results of tank site testing on Grantley Harbor
Teller won't have results until 2027 from testing at a shoreline tank site where the community suspects petroleum leaked into soil near Grantley Harbor.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks would keep its 11.2 million gallon Tanana discharge cap
Fairbanks' wastewater plant would keep its 11.2 million gallon daily discharge cap on the Tanana, unchanged since 2022. It currently uses less than half.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Hilcorp wants to dig a 95-acre gravel pit near the Putuligayuk River
Hilcorp wants to dig a 95-acre gravel pit near the Putuligayuk River on the North Slope. Two-thirds of it would be permanent. Comment closes Sept. 4.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks draft river plan backs changing wastewater discharge so the Chena can freeze
A Fairbanks plan backs letting the Chena freeze through town again, undoing decades of warm power-plant water, though some residents worry about snowmachines.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
USDA proposes lifting roadless rule protections on Tongass and Chugach
USDA proposes ending the 2001 Roadless Rule on Alaska's Tongass and Chugach forests, opening 9.3 million acres to potential road building and logging under local forest plans. Comments due Sept. 21.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
NOAA is still testing groundwater in the Pribilofs, decades after it left
NOAA is paying $186,644 to keep sampling groundwater in the Pribilofs, cleanup left over from 116 years of federal control of the fur seal harvest.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Alaska's cruise ship wastewater permit expired in 2019 and is still in force
Twenty-eight cruise ships discharged treated wastewater in Alaska last season under a 2014 permit that expired in 2019. Nine discharges were unauthorized.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Petersburg ships most of its trash to Washington; its unlined landfill is up for renewal
Petersburg's household trash gets barged to Washington state. What stays behind goes into an unlined landfill where groundwater monitoring was waived.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Judge vacates Izembek land exchange for King Cove road
A federal judge vacated the land exchange behind the King Cove road through the Izembek refuge, reopening one of Alaska's longest fights on primary day.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
EPA proposes $5,859 UniSea settlement over Dutch Harbor stormwater
EPA says UniSea's Dutch Harbor plant went years with a stale pollution plan and unpermitted flows toward Iliuliuk Harbor. The proposed penalty is $5,859
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
