Alaska Pebble Mine Executives Taped Detailing Sway over Politicians

The Pebble Mine is a major open-pit mine in a remote part of Southwest Alaska. Alaskans have been fighting on this issue for over a decade and a half, with supporters arguing for much-needed economic development while opponents argue that development will cause environmental harm, especially to the salmon population. The project is a major issue in the Alaska Senate race between Dr. Al Gross (D) and Senator Dan Sullivan (R), one of the most competitive Senate races this election cycle. Gross staunchly opposes the Pebble Mine while Sullivan has not taken a strong stance on the issue.

NYT writes that "The Corps of Engineers issued a final environmental impact statement last month that found that the project as proposed would not cause 'long-term changes in the health of the commercial fisheries.' The Corps is expected to make a final decision on a permit for the project within weeks. That would allow construction to proceed after state permits are obtained, which is expected to take three years."

Yesterday, an environmental group released secretly recorded tapes of Pebble Mine executives Roland Thiessen and Tom Collier boasting about their sway over elected officials:

"Thiessen described both of the state’s Republican U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, as politicians who might make noises about the project to appear sensitive to environmental concerns but ultimately won’t stand in their way. “It’s an age-old practice where when you have constituents, you have important people who support you on two sides of an issue, all right, you try to find a way to satisfy them both,” he said in the recording.

He noted that Murkowski declined to move a bill that would have barred the federal government from permitting the mine. Instead, she included language in a spending bill that raised some questions about Pebble Mine but did not hinder it. “She says things that don’t sound supportive of Pebble, but when it comes time to vote, when it comes time to do something, she never does anything to hurt Pebble, okay?” Thiessen said."

Collier and Thiessen also discuss how they play to both parties:

"Collier, who worked as chief of staff to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt during the Clinton administration, said that he registered as an independent in Alaska but was “a well-known Republican fundraiser” in the state. He describes how he helped lead a successful effort to defeat nine state GOP legislators last election because they worked with Democrats and did not support Pebble Mine.

“Now, having said that, it’s entirely possible that we may have [former vice president Joe] Biden as a president, and if we do, I’m gonna brush off my Democratic credentials and start using them a little more actively than I do,” he added."

Thiessen boasts about his connections and sway over the White House, an interesting claim considering how Berry Chapter 8 talks about how the White House is one of the more difficult branches of government to influence.

“I mean, we can talk to the chief of staff of the White House any time we want. You want to be careful with all this because it’s all recorded,” Thiessen said. “It’s not that they tape the call, it’s just that it’s recorded that ‘He had a call with Tom Collier, the CEO of Pebble Limited Partnership.’ You don’t want to be seen to be trying to exercise undue influence. It’s better for us if we want to push that envelope that Tom talks to the governor of the state of Alaska and the governor of the state of Alaska picks up the phone and calls the chief of staff to the White House, yes.”