New guidelines for Hawk Inlet draw criticism

Dry stacked tailings facility at Greens Creek Mine. (Photo courtesy Hecla Mining Company)
Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation is working on new guidelines for Hawk Inlet — the location of Hecla’s Greens Creek Mine.Last spring, an environmental advocacy group found elevated levels of mercury in a seal harvested near the inlet. That sent off alarm bells for a nearby village, which is dependent on subsistence foods.There was barely an empty seat in the small, rectang