Alaska, British Columbia leaders sign cooperative agreement

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Gov. Bill Walker and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark signed a cooperative agreement Wednesday

committing to work together on issues of shared interest, including addressing concerns about the effect of Canadian mining on waters flowing into Alaska.

The memorandum of

understanding calls for a working group comprised of state and provincial officials that would, among other things, work to develop and implement a joint water-quality

monitoring program and set

up a means of sharing information.

Bill Bennett, the province’s minister of energy and mines, called the agreement

momentous. While it’s not legally binding, he said having the leaders of two jurisdictions sign a document saying they’ll cooperate in a certain way

carries a lot of importance. “We actually have time here to

gather baseline information and to develop the right

protocols between the two jurisdictions long before we have any sort of rampant or comprehensive mine development in the

northwest part of our province,’’ he said.

Alaska’s government has asked for comments from interested parties on a document that will flesh out terms of the memorandum related to

trans-boundary waters. Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott said the state will share its ideas with

provincial officials so they can continue the conversation in Canada.

Chris Zimmer, Alaska

campaign director for Rivers Without Borders, said the

draft document that’s been

circulated is flawed and

lacks specific binding commitments.

Heather Hardcastle,

director of the Salmon Beyond Borders campaign, said by that working out the memorandum of understanding, the

state seems to be conceding this is a local issue. The campaign has advocated for an

international commission to review the planned mine

developments and how they could affect Alaska’s

downstream waters. Requests for an international

commission’s involvement must come from the national governments.

Bennett said British Columbia would only seek the involvement of an international commission if it became “next to impossible’’ to deal with the state.

“We’re actually moving in the opposite direction from that,’’ he said. “We’re cooperating, and we’re being respectful.’’

Mallott, who works on

trans-boundary water issues within Walker’s administration, said the agreement is neutral on the possibility of an

international commission’s involvement. As long as British Columbia is permitting mines, it’s incumbent upon the state to be as engaged as possible to protect its interest in the water quality and environmental integrity, he said.

The agreement included other provisions, such as

continuing cooperation on tourism promotion and working to promote marine

transportation safety and reliability.