U.S. Congress 2019-2020: Bills Introduced (Over 5,000 in the House and over 3,000 in the Senate)
Ketchikan 2020 Year in Review:COVID cancels entire cruise ship season; International pandemic affects all residents, even those that remained healthy By DAVE KIFFER - Like the rest of the world, the biggest news story in Ketchikan was the quarantine caused by the Corona Virus or COVID 19. Most of Ketchikan was shut down from mid-March through the end of April harkening back to the month- long closure of the Ketchikan economy and social world for a month during the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918.
By the end of the year, the COVID 19 virus had infected more than 250 residents and local visitors. One Saxman resident, Julie Wasulli, 56, was medivaced to Bellingham in November and died on December 11.
USGS to continue baseline water quality monitoring for Southeast Alaska’s transboundary rivers
Saturday PM (SitNews) Juneau, Alaska - Led by the Alaska Congressional Delegation, the U.S. Congress has approved more than $3.62 million dollars for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to continue baseline water quality monitoring at the international border for Southeast Alaska’s transboundary rivers, and to shore up U.S. Department of State involvement on the issue of British Columbia (B.C.) mining, and mining contamination, near rivers that flow into the United States. The funding was included as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and approved by Congress on December 21, 2020.
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Canadian developers behind a proposed massive metals mine 20 miles from the border seek another permit extension from B.C. regulators. If it’s built, the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell mine would be larger than the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay.
Seabridge Gold had hoped to be mining copper, gold and other metals by now. The KSM mine received approvals in 2014 on the condition that it break ground within five years.
Two years ago it received an extension giving it until 2024 to start work. Now, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s asked for another two years after that.
But mine critics in Canada say it’s the mining company’s failure to attract a partner, not the virus, that’s stalled development.