RED DOG AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• Fugitive dust
• Water quality
• Red Dog Mine and TRI
• Q&A on TRI
• Water quality permit
• USEPA Red Dog Mine SEIS website
• EPA 2006 TRI Report

What is TRI?

TRI is an annual reporting program that covers roughly 650 chemicals and substances listed by the EPA. The report was designed to provide residents who live near industrial complexes information about what these facilities emit into the air, water and land.

In 1998, metals mining operations like Red Dog were included in the list of industries that must report TRI data to the EPA. Mines move huge quantities of rock so they immediately moved to the top of the TRI list, even though 99 percent of the reportable releases never leave the mine sites and are properly stored in highly regulated facilities. The inclusion of mines distorted the TRI list, which was designed to inform residents about the emissions from chemical and plastic plants.

Why is Red Dog at the top of the TRI list?

While Red Dog moves a lot of rock, other mines move even more. In 2003, a court ruled that waste rock that contained less than 1 percent of the substances listed on the TRI list did not need to be reported. The waste rock at Red Dog exceeds the 1 percent rule so must be reported. The waste rock exemption for the large mines moved Red Dog to the top of the TRI list.

The TRI numbers are deceptive

Red Dog's actual releases to the air, water and land are very small and well with the levels allowed by their state and federal permits, which are among the most stringent in the world. As the EPA states on its website: “Users of TRI information should be aware that TRI data reflect releases and other waste management activities of chemicals, not to whether (or to what degree the public} as been exposed to those chemicals. That's an important distinction because the Red Dog are not toxic releases to the environment, but rock safety contained on the mine site.

Red Dog operations are highly regulated

Red Dog operates under the strictest federal, state and local regulations and its environmental systems are certified under the world's most demanding ISO 14001 standards. Red Dog was the first mine in the United States to meet the ISO standards.

Our commitment to environmental excellence is supported by the $15 million mine operator Teck Cominco has spent to improve environmental performance and the more than 300 studies conducted to improve mine operations.

Red Dog reports monthly to its neighbors, the residents of Noatak and Kivalina. The mine consults on a regular basis with a Substance Committee made up of representatives from the villages. We take our commitment seriously to ensure that the legacy of Red Dog is one that supports a subsistence lifestyle – for tomorrow, for eternity.