The project developer asserted the court filing is “surprisingly short-sighted” and “reads like it was written by an Obama/Biden/Anti-mining/Anti-oil/Anti-development coalition.”
This Sept. 2011 aerial photo provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, shows the Bristol Bay watershed in Alaska. The U.S. Department of Justice is defending a Biden-era veto of the Pebble copper and gold project, saying the Environmental Protection Agency properly exercised its authority to prevent adverse impacts to a “globally significant” fishery in Bristol Bay.
the Trump administration’s opposition to the proposed mine, a departure from the president’s aggressive pro-development agenda that includes support of U.S. mineral production The Pebble project sits on state land about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, near the headwaters of Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.to block the mine under a little-used provision in the Clean Water Act. The agency had said the mine would cause “unacceptable, adverse” harm to the valuable Bristol Bay salmon fishery. The Justice Department said in its filing that the Pebble mineral deposit exists under streams, wetlands and other waters that are critical for supporting salmon in the watershed, “a largely undisturbed, globally significant economic, ecological, and cultural resource.” “ mine plan calls for the disposal of large quantities of fill into waters of the United States that would destroy or comparably damage large areas of salmon habitat that are fishery areas,” the filing said.The filing makes arguments that a “pro-business Republican Administration” has perhaps never made, including that the EPA can block a potentially major revenue-generating project without a comprehensive cost impact analysis, he said. “The brief reads like it was written by an Obama/Biden/Anti-mining/Anti-oil/Anti-development coalition,” Thiessen said. “Unfortunately, these arguments can be cited repeatedly by the next Democratic administration as it seeks to unravel this administration’s laudable progress in moving forward so many new energy/mining/development projects.” The Pebble project hit a major roadblock under the first Trump administration, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2020Pebble is also suing over the permit denial. That matter is on hold while the case against the EPA veto proceeds.“Our strategy has always been grounded in a solid legal case that this veto was illegal, and a high level of confidence that the court will agree with us,” Thiessen said. “This DOJ brief makes many arguments that we have seen before and that directly contradict the findings of the Final Environmental Impact Statement . The flaws in this brief only increase that confidence.“Last summer, the sides failed to reach an agreement, generating praise from conservation groups pleased with the Trump administration’s position.Mary Catharine Martin, a spokesperson with conservation group SalmonState, said on Wednesday that the Trump administration’s defense of the EPA veto is significant. “Bristol Bay has world-class sockeye salmon runs, and it drives $2.2 billion in economic activity every year,” she said. “Pebble would pose unacceptable risks to one of America’s most valuable fisheries and the 15,000 jobs and many people that depend on it. So this makes clear that the Trump administration understands that and understands that Bristol Bay is really a special place.” She said that the court filing points out that the veto did not prohibit mining of the Pebble deposit, but it did prevent Pebble Limited from doing exactly what it has proposed there. She said conservation groups support an act before the Legislature, the Bristol Bay Forever Act, which would prohibit metallic sulfide mining in the Bristol Bay fisheries reserve.“The notion that this will permanently harm the salmon fishery defies common sense,” he said. “This effort to lock up more than 200,000 acres of state-owned land, specifically designated for potential mineral development, is a textbook example of Washington, D.C. bureaucrats and special interests imposing their will on Alaska,” he said. Other parties to the case, on the side of Pebble, include the state of Alaska and an Alaska Native village corporation, Iliamna Natives, Ltd. Trout Unlimited and Bristol Bay Native Association, representing 31 Alaska Native tribes in the region, are also parties in the case, on the side of the federal government.Alex DeMarban is a longtime Alaska journalist who covers business, the oil and gas industries and general assignments. Reach him at 907-257-4317 or alex@adn.com.
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