Joint Alaska-B.C. Working Group Coordinates Watershed Oversight

Joint Alaska-B.C. Working Group Meets to Coordinate Watershed Oversight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 14, 2026
Contact: Sam Dapcevich, 907-465-5009, sam.dapcevich@alaska.gov

(JUNEAU, Alaska and VICTORIA, British Columbia) — Alaska Commissioners and British Columbia Deputy Ministers convened April 8 for the Spring 2026 meeting of the Bilateral Working Group. This formal body coordinates environmental protection efforts and allows officials to engage directly on issues affecting shared watersheds and transboundary rivers.

Alaska and British Columbia share a long-standing commitment to safeguarding shared watersheds, aquatic ecosystems, and downstream communities. Through our cooperation, agencies work together on joint monitoring initiatives, share water quality data, discuss monitoring results, and coordinate oversight of activities near the international boundary. These results are publicly available and provide important information to inform future environmental protection and regulatory decisions.

UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS AND INFORMATION

2026 Transboundary Waters Newsletter Release

The State of Alaska and the Province of British Columbia published the 2026 B.C.-Alaska Transboundary Waters Newsletter following the April 8 biannual meeting of the Bilateral Working Group. This annual publication provides updates on water quality monitoring, regulatory milestones, and remediation progress in shared watersheds. This newsletter, along with newsletters from previous years, can be found here:

• https://dec.alaska.gov/water/transboundary
• https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/mineral-exploration-mining/bc-alaska-transboundary-waters. Spring Webinar Update on Cleanup of the Tulsequah Chief Mine

Reflecting continued coordination between Alaska and British Columbia, Teck Resources and Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN) have committed to holding a public webinar later this spring regarding remediation efforts at the Tulsequah Chief Mine. When a webinar date, time, and link are available, the information will be shared on both the Alaska DEC and British Columbia websites listed in this press release. This webinar follows Teck Resources and TRTFN’s December 2025 public presentation on the season’s reclamation efforts. These public engagements are a direct result of the strong, collaborative relationship between our two governments and our commitment to sharing information with our – and each other’s – communities and citizens.

Spring 2026 Bilateral Working Group meeting summary

The Spring 2026 Bilateral Working Group meeting included an update on Tulsequah remediation efforts, overviews of Alaska and British Columbia’s bonding frameworks, water quality monitoring results and project updates. A summary of the April 8 discussion will be posted online following the meeting. Summaries for this and past meetings are available on both Alaska and British Columbia websites.

QUOTES:

“Science, transparency, communication and ongoing cooperation are the cornerstones of protecting Alaska’s transboundary rivers,” said DEC Commissioner Randy Bates. “Our monitoring results and the science behind our assessments are publicly available, and our coordination with British Columbia helps ensure we are working from the same information.”

“British Columbia values the continued collaboration with Alaska through the Bilateral Working Group,” said Nathaniel Amann-Blake, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to responsible resource development, including mining, while protecting transboundary waters and the communities that depend on them.”

RESOURCES:

Alaska DEC “Protecting SE Alaska Transboundary Waters” website:

https://dec.alaska.gov/water/transboundary

B.C. “Protecting the environment near the B.C. and Alaska border” website:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/mineral-exploration-mining/bc-alaska-transboundary-waters

U.S. Water Quality Portal

https://www.waterqualitydata.us/

B.C. Water science and data

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/water-science-data

B.C. Water quality monitoring

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/water-quality#monitoring

Indicates an external site.