Brevig Mission residents gather comments ahead of Corps deadline for Graphite One permit

About 100 residents of Brevig Mission gathered last week in a public townhall meeting hosted by the tribe, the city and the Native corporation to address concerns about a proposed graphite mine as federal regulators are soliciting public comments on key permits needed for Graphite One Alaska Inc. to move forward building the mine. It seems that the villages most affected by the proposed mine have only recently learned about the time-sensitive process of submitting comments as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on the so-called Section 404 wetlands permit, which would allow Graphite One to place fill and gravel in waters and wetlands to build the mine infrastructure and facilities.

The main worry of Brevig Mission residents centers on the effects of the proposed mine on subsistence resources. What is billed as a world class graphite deposit, the mine would be located at the northern slopes of the Kigluaik Mountains, at Graphite Creek, near Imuruk Basin.

Mayor William Kakoona’s concern, representative for most in Brevig Mission, is the potential degradation of subsistence resources such as moose, caribou, berries and greens and the fish. His worry: What will the younger generation do when those subsistence resources are diminished due to the mine and industrial activity in a part of the land that has been for generations been the area’s food basket? “How are they going to survive without all that Native foods that we have right now?” he said in a phone interview with the Nugget.

The townhall came about when in a previous tri-entity meeting early last week, the town’s leadership felt it was necessary to inform residents about the extended deadline for what was initially only a 30-day comment period, beginning on Sept. 30. It was extended to November 30. But time is running out and tribal, city and corporation leaders called the meeting to assist people in timely submitting comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Tribal Coordinator Darla Tocktoo said that more than half of the residents of Brevig do not use email and are not familiar with the bureaucracy of submitting public comments.

According to newly elected Brevig Mission City Council Member Johnee Seetot, people were writing their comments on a piece of paper and volunteers with laptops typed the comments out to email them to the Corps by deadline. The comments were mostly in opposition of the mine and how it may affect or potentially destroy “our resources that we rely on,” Seetot said. “Not only resources we in Brevig and Teller rely on but our friends and family outside the region, we share with family and friends, and we trade.”

Seetot said that the city does not have the financial means or organizational resources to be advocating for themselves. But together with the tribe and the Native corporation, they were working together to at least raise awareness. “We don't know how be heard,” Seetot said. “We're limited in our monetary resources. We have your own local concerns. You know, we're struggling.”

Most people in Brevig Mission were unaware of the open public comment period, including resident Dick Kugzruk. He said there were no signs posted and that usually the governing bodies of Brevig are good about putting up signs “to let people know and give clear directions on where to find more information.”

Kugzruk knew that this kind of project would require public input at some point, but he didn’t know that the process had started, although he feels that he’s well informed when it comes to these things. “I look at the news every morning, read my emails every day,” he said.  

Kugzruk’s concern is the size of the project and that the footprint seems to keep growing. He is worried about the unknown. What will leach out into the environment? He explained that right downhill is Graphite Bay, which is part of the bigger Imuruk Basin, and home of all forms of salmon, and an abundance of tom cod and whitefish. Kugzruk also questioned if this million-dollar project would provide jobs for the villages. So far, he said, he sees that jobs go to people from Nome and none of the income trickles into the village. “Those million-dollar projects happened in each of our villages every year and we were still getting the short end of it,” he said. “I don't know why people are still satisfied with that. You know, at some point in our lives, we have to say, ‘Enough, enough.” Kugzruk said that the mine life projected to be 40 years would be ample time to train up a workforce from the villages for well-paying jobs. But he said, he would like to see that they have a seat at the table when those decisions are made about jobs, about reclamation, about assurances that measures are taken to safely mine.

Native Village of Brevig Mission Tribal President Gilbert Tocktoo is also worried about the mine’s impact on an ecological sensitive area that is used by residents of Brevig and Teller to pick berries and greens, hunt waterfowl, caribou and moose and fish for different species of fish, white fish, tom cods and most cherished of all, salmon.

In his opinion, the Army Corps has not sufficiently consulted with the tribe about this proposal. Asked if jobs would mitigate the potential loss of subsistence lands, he said that most community members in Brevig don’t have CDL licenses, which would put most mine jobs out of reach for them.

And then there is the matter of trust. He said, they were told that the permitting would take up to three years, just to learn now that the project had been fast tracked and permitting could be done in a year. “They’re not being honest with us,” he said.

The project was included in a federal initiative that places major mining projects on an accelerated schedule. Much of the speed of permitting hinges on whether the Corps requires a faster Environmental Assessment or a more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement process.

In September, the Nome Nugget requested an explanation from the Corps what would trigger an EA over an EIS. The Army Corps’ Project Manager Gregory Mazer said that the Corps was “evaluating the proposed action’s anticipated impacts and simultaneously conducting an approved jurisdictional determination based on information provided by the applicant, other available information, and a recent site visit.” He said pending the jurisdictional results and the analysis of the project’s anticipated impacts may lead to review of the project via preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.  

The three Brevig Mission entities have drafted a resolution expressing “unified opposition to the proposed Graphite One mine” due to “threats to subsistence resources, cultural integrity, environmental health, community wellbeing and long-term sustainability of the region.” The resolution also notes that community members reported inadequate consultation, incomplete information and insufficient environmental and cultural impact assessments.

For next week, about 21 representatives from the Native Village of Brevig Mission, the city and the Native corporation will head across the bay to attend a joint meeting regarding Graphite One with the entities of Teller and Mary’s Igloo, Mayor Kakoona said.  

The Army Corps’ public notice can be found at https://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/ 

Comments are due on November 30, 2025 and should be directed to Greg Mazer, Gregory.j.mazer@usace.army.mil 

Questions? Contact U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Greg Mazer at (907) 347-9059, toll free from within Alaska at (800) 478-2712, or by email at Gregory.j.mazer@usace.army.mil