An unprecedented coalition of 15 local and tribal governments not seen in the Skagit Watershed since the Magic Skagit arose to fight against nuclear power plants in our valley has come together. The coalition opposes the potential giant copper mine in our headwaters and requests our governments move to permanently protect our headwaters as envisioned in the 1984 Skagit River Treaty signed by Canada and the United States.
Any large-scale mine, much less a disastrous tailings-pond failure like the one that occurred in 2014 at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia, also under the watch of Imperial Metals Corporation, would forever threaten our public health, economy, salmon runs and provision of drinking water for the 140,000 residents we serve in the Skagit Valley.
Thank you for the editorial “Environmental wins and two that need protection: Bristol Bay, Skagit River headwaters” [June 18, Opinion] also urging that we all join our unprecedented coalition and end this threat once and for all. As the editorial noted, too much has already been sacrificed by the commons to protect our quality of life for us to allow large-scale mining that benefits only a few stakeholders.
Richard Brocksmith, Mount Vernon City Council