In a press release dated September 5, 2013, No. 13-145, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell demonstrated his outrage over the EPA’s raid on mining operations near Chicken, Alaska in late August. Governor Parnell has called for a special counsel to investigate the EPA’s raid. Governor Parnell’s statement was the strongest of any governor seen by this 59 year resident.

The EPA and one Alaska DEC agent conducted an armed raid in full body armor with POLICE signs in white bold letters velcroed to their black body armor to collect . . . water samples. The raid was to check compliance with water turbidity standards (the amount of particulate--silt in the water column) at the discharge point back into the stream. No citations were issued or arrests made for non-compliance.

In a phone conference with State officials and members of the Alaska congressional delegation, the EPA gave the excuse that the Alaska State Troopers had provided information that Chicken, Alaska was a "hotbed" of drugs and human trafficking.

Senator Lisa Murkowski believes that the EPA "concocted the story as an excuse for the outrageous overreaching.

The full text of the governor’s press release:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 13-145

Governor Outraged at Needless Show of Force by EPA, BLM, DEC Agents

Calls for Special Counsel

September 5, 2013, Juneau, Alaska – 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 governor’s reaction is refreshing and appropriate.

An Alaska Deptarment of Environmental Conservation (DEC) agent accompanied the EPA on the raids, and was also similarly armed and armored.

The only police agency that should have had any armed presence in a law enforcement action in the State of Alaska is the Alaska State Troopers (AST) or a State Military Police constabulary acting under AS 26.05.070. The AST and a State Military Police Constabulary acting under AS 26.05.070 have law enforcement jurisdiction statewide.

AS 01.10.060(a)(7)(A-F) defines a peace officer under Alaska Statutes:

"(a) In the laws of the state, unless the context otherwise requires,

(7) "peace officer" means

(A) an officer of the state troopers;

(B) a member of the police force of a municipality;

(C) a village public safety officer;

(D) a regional public safety officer;

(E) a United States marshal or deputy marshal; and

(F) an officer whose duty it is to enforce and preserve the public peace;"

An EPA water quality technician armed or not, is hardly charged to ‘enforce and preserve the public peace’. Same for the DEC. Only actual law enforcement agencies should be wearing "POLICE" signs on their uniforms or equipment.

Alaska’s DEC’s commissioner may be in hot water.

Under Alaska’s Statehood Compact, the State of Alaska is given full law enforcement jurisdication over all lands in Alaska, including federal lands. The raid by the EPA was an outrageous assault not only endangering needlessly the miners affected but violated the State’s 10^th Amendment rights and is a breach of Alaska’s Statehood Compact. A regulatory agency’s enforcement action does not comply with AS 01.10.060(a)(7)(A-F). Were law enforcement action required, an Alaska State Trooper should have accompanied the EPA and DEC water technicians to effect any arrest or to keep the peace.

Alaska’s Congressman Don Young issued the following statement regarding the EPA raid:


"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.

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.

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."

This raid is a dangerous precedent and it is encouraging to have Governor Parnell act aggressively to stop this egregious affront by the federal government.

The federal government is arming its regulatory agencies and training them to conduct armed raids, as if taking a water sample to check compliance with the Clean Water Act rises to the level of a raid on an Al Qaeda cell in a combat zone. Federal "law enforcement", including strictly heretofore unarmed regulatory agencies, has increased from 60,000 to 180,000 to date under the Obama Administration. President Obama stated during the 2008 campaign that he wanted a civilian armed force equal to the U.S. military for domestic policing.


　

The EPA now takes water samples from Alaska mines with a SWAT Team

The EPA is now part of an Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force that is armed to the hilt to investigate "environmental crimes" by Alaska miners. Apparently, a dirty water discharge has now risen to the level of the use of deadly force against the offending miner.

Miners in Chicken were surprised during late August by groups comprising four to eight armed EPA agents carrying Glock .40 S&W cal side arms in full battle rattle with signs in big letters loudly proclaiming POLICE who stormed into several mines near Chicken in a full out assault to . . . take water samples. The EPA gestapo, and that’s all one can term such a heavy handed goon squad were there to take water samples to see if the miners were in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Something in past years that was done by one or two unarmed State of Alaska DEC personnel along with a representative of the EPA without rancor.

If the situation were not so serious, and the threat to the miners so real, this could almost be laughed off as a joke. However, armed goons with .40 cal Glocks in full battle rattle are not a joke. This event marks a new level of federal oversight on Alaska’s federal lands. Lands which the management of were supposed to be the responsibility of the State of Alaska under the terms of Alaska’s Statehood Compact. This event is an outrage and sets an extremely dangerous precedent for future regulation activities by the various federal agencies in Alaska.

Why were they there?

In a conference call with State officials including members of Alaska’s congressional delegation, the EPA stated that they had received information from the Alaska State Troopers that there was rampant drug and human trafficking in . . . Chicken, Alaska. Now, that is funny.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski opined that the situation was made up to allow the EPA (and DEC) to act as they did.

The AST’s spokesperson Megan Peters basically denied the EPA’s allegations as to receiving any information from the Troopers regarding anything at Chicken.

Why was there no court involved to protect the miners, if the EPA felt armed force was justified?

A member of the Alaska DEC was along to intimidate the locals at Chicken. The DEC agent was also armed. Now, DEC personnel are armed?!

What is going on here, Governor Sean Parnell?

The only police agency that should have had any armed presence was the Alaska State Troopers. They have jurisdiction statewide. Why were no Troopers part of that armed affront to Alaska’s sovereignty?

Chicken, Alaska is a historic mining town off the Taylor Highway has a resident population of 17 that grows to several dozen seasonally with the mining season. The mines are accessible by road, making it easy for the federal wanna be cold stone killer infantry wanna be Gestapo goon squad. Had this been a "raid" conducted at off the road, remote mines, there is a likelihood that they would have been met with armed resistance, as many mines maintain arms for self-defense and predators–both two legged and four.

The Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force is made up of members of the Alaska State Troopers, the EPA, the FBI, the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

Only one mine checked had a water sample that "looked" over the particulate limit.

Where is Governor Parnell on this issue?

As with the Jim Wilde incident on the Yukon River in 2010, silent.

What next, armored personnel carriers and machine guns to make certain your garbage sack is tied?

Better watch out for the Apache gun ships and Predator drones with Hellfire missiles if your car is running a bit rich and there is any smoke out the tail pipe.

We need a governor who will stand up for Alaskans and Alaska against the heavy hand of the Obama Administration.

Sen. Begich certainly will certainly not act to curtail this danger to the citizens of Alaska.

Bill Walker is running for governor, and Mead Treadwell is running for the U.S. Senate. Maybe, they will work to protect Alaska’s sovereignty and Alaskans from a DC mentality that clearly believes in armed force rather than a rule of law and due process.

For more information:

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130903/gold-miners-near-chicken-cry-foul-over-heavy-handed-epa-raids