(SitNews) - After a week of internal review into reports of intimidation and needless show of force by federal and state officials, Governor Sean Parnell has ordered an investigation into the practices of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Environmental Crimes Unit and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Criminal Investigations Division. The review comes after the governor learned that a state DEC investigator joined seven enforcement officers from the EPA and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to investigate placer miners in the Fortymile River area near Chicken. The agents, armed and wearing body armor, claimed they were looking for violations of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. No arrests were made and no citations were issued.

“With a mere last minute notification to our DEC commissioner, Alaska’s attorney general, and the Department of Public Safety, the EPA, BLM and a DEC investigator took it upon themselves to swoop in on unsuspecting miners in remote Alaska,” Governor Parnell said. “This level of intrusion and intimidation of Alaskans is absolutely unacceptable. I will not tolerate any state agency’s participation in this sort of reckless conduct. There are many unanswered questions and I will seek a special counsel to get to the bottom of this matter and work to ensure it never happens again.”

Governor Parnell also called on EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to review and reevaluate how her agency handles Clean Water Act investigations. He also encouraged her to join the State of Alaska in ensuring the use of needless show of force tactics never happens again in Alaska.

The Fortymile miners have invited EPA, BLM, and others to attend a meeting on September 14th to explain their heavy-handed raid in Chicken, Alaska.

Regarding the raid, U.S. Representative Don Young (R-AK) said, “I am deeply troubled by the aggressive show of force and tactics employed by the EPA and other agencies, whose agents descended on the Fortymile Mining District late last month to enforce provisions of the Clean Water Act."

Young said, “Rather than focusing on compliance with common practices and assisting in education, this sweeping operation was heavy handed, cast a wide net, and brought intimidation to unsuspecting and many undeserving miners. Particularly concerning is the level of misinformation and lack of coordination with State law enforcement agencies, a detail that was illuminated earlier by Governor Parnell. As a result, I stand with him in support of his call for an investigation and I too demand that Administrator McCarthy review her agency’s actions."

“Despite the creation of meddlesome federal agencies like the EPA, safe and responsible mining in this area of Alaska has occurred for well over 120 years, and it is my intention to see that activity continues as the time honored Alaskan tradition that it is. However, I’m afraid this latest incident is simply another example of a coordinated harassment strategy from federal agencies who don’t view placer activity as compatible in and around an area designated as a Wild and Scenic River," said Young.

Young said, “Finally, I join the request of the Fortymile miners, and call on the EPA and other agencies involved in these recent actions to meet in Chicken, Alaska next week to discuss the operation.”

When State Representative Doug Isaacson (R-North Pole) received a call from a mining friend in the 40-Mile District about the intimidating tactics of an EPA-led Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force last week he was appalled.

Isaacson said, “Imagine these law-abiding miners, minding their own business, trying to follow the myriad of laws, rules and regulations which the government has put upon them, suddenly have a group of eight agents from the FBI, EPA, BLM, Coast Guard, DOD and our own state DEC show up at their camp with flak jackets adorned with POLICE in big, bold letters as if they were presumed criminals. It would be enough to make anyone nervous.”

“Also, these Federal agents lied and said our State Troopers told them there was human trafficking and drugs out in Chicken - so go in prepared. Our Troopers deny such allegations,” Isaacson stated emphatically. “Instead of responding to reported violations, they decided to take an Alaskan summer vacation and practice their skills here. I wasn’t surprised they didn’t find any violations. But it is inexcusable for for the Feds to apparently neglect due process and terrorize hard-working Alaskans, Isaacson said.

Isaacson said, “I applaud the intervention by Alaska’s congressional delegation and the governor requesting a formal report, and hope there will be a resolution of this issue by the September 14th miner’s meeting in Chicken. I know it’s important to get the facts, but people have a right to be safe and secure in their homes and businesses,” Isaacson said.

“Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is designated to enforce EPA rules. We need to use our own agencies to monitor our own people. And yet, the federal government continues to wonder why we don’t trust them; inexcusable," said Isaacson.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News: 

Office of the Governor
www. gov.state.ak.us

Office of Congressman Don Young
www.donyoung.house.gov

Office of State Representative Doug Isaacson (R-North Pole)

 

SitNews ©2013
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper sources.