Briefcase

Cantwell urges EPA to protect Bristol Bay

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Monday she would oppose a huge copper and gold mine proposed near Alaska’s Bristol Bay if studies find it would harm salmon and thus put jobs in her own state at risk.

In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Cantwell described Bristol Bay’s salmon population as an economic linchpin for commercial fishermen both in Alaska and Washington.

Nearly 1,000 Washington residents hold Bristol Bay commercial fishing licenses, she said.

“Thousands of my constituents have contacted me expressing their concerns regarding the potentially catastrophic and widespread long-term impacts of the proposed Pebble Mine, which would be the world’s largest man-made excavation,” Cantwell said in her letter.

Cantwell called on the Environmental Protection Agency to consider using the Clean Water Act to prohibit or restrict large-scale development around the bay if it would harm the world-class salmon-producing rivers in the region.

She also expressed her support of the agency’s decision to conduct a thorough analysis of large-scale mining near the Pebble Mine project site.

The EPA announced in February that it would analyze the potential impact of the Pebble mine proposal on watersheds feeding Bristol Bay.

The Bristol Bay Native Corp. and nine federally recognized Bristol Bay Alaska native tribes have asked the EPA to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to stop the mine from being developed. The analysis is expected to be released this fall.

Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and Anglo American plc in the United Kingdom have a 50-50 partnership in the Pebble project.

Associated Press

Feds will test for more strains of E. coli bacteria

WASHINGTON – For years government officials have tested meat for only one strain of E. coli. Now they will test for seven, a move that will hasten recalls of infected meat.

The meat industry has been required for 17 years to test for the common O157:H7 strain of the pathogen. But other strains of E. coli have increasingly been found in food in recent years, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says other strains cause an estimated 110,000 illnesses annually.

Food safety advocates and meat industry representatives briefed on the decision say the meat companies will begin testing for six additional strains of E. coli in beef trimmings – parts of the cow that end up in ground beef – in March and may later expand to ground beef and other meats. The USDA would not comment but is expected to announce the new tests today.

The meat industry immediately opposed the move, saying it is too expensive to do the tests and there isn’t enough benefit.

Associated Press

Washington Trust to open Pullman branch

Washington Trust Bank plans to open its first full-service Pullman branch later this year. A location for the branch has not yet been chosen, said bank spokeswoman Katy Wagnon.

In the meantime Spokane-based Washington Trust will open an interim branch, taking space inside the Edison Retail Center, 594 S.E. Bishop Blvd.

That interim branch will open around Nov. 1, she said. During the next several months the location of the permanent branch will be identified.

“We are thrilled to be expanding into this region of Washington and welcome the opportunity to begin serving the Pullman community,” said Terry Weimer, senior VP for the bank.

Staff report