Regional Environmental Initiatives
Beyond our project site activities, we engage in regional efforts to improve environmental conditions. NOVAGOLD and Donlin Gold LLC supported the 2021 Clean-Up Green-Up program, which ran throughout the summer and reached a record 50-plus Tribes and municipalities who participated in the event.
Hazardous waste management is a major community concern in the Y-K region because there are no safe, authorized sites for long-term management and disposal of these wastes generated in the communities. Donlin Gold LLC, along with community and Tribal partners, held the fourth and most successful “In It for the Long Haul” backhaul project in summer 2021, removing approximately 180,000 pounds of hazardous materials – such as fluorescent tubes, lead acid batteries, and electronic waste – from 26 villages throughout the Y-K region. This is compared to approximately 45,000 pounds of waste collected in 2020. Over the last five years, nearly 400,000 pounds of waste was removed that would otherwise end up in landfills, in waterways, or in other areas that could be harmful to local communities.
Donlin Gold LLC is also working with TKC, the State of Alaska, and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to upgrade health and safety standards of water and sewer services in Middle Kuskokwim area communities. Additionally, Donlin Gold LLC has begun working with the Association of Village Council Presidents in the region to train local residents in conducting water quality testing throughout the Kuskokwim River watershed.
