Pebble Litigation
Alaska Superior Court Judge Eric A Aarseth has found that the state did not violate the Alaska Constitution in issuing mineral exploration permits for the Pebble mine project, at the headwaters of Bristol Bay in Southwest Alaska. Aarseth also ruled in his 154-page decision issued on Sept. 26 that the state did not need to study first potential impacts of such exploration activities.Environmental law firm Trustees for Alaska, representing Nunamta Aulukestai (Caretakers of the Land) and several individuals in the case, is considering taking the case to the Alaska Supreme Court. The plaintiffs have 30 days to decide after the court issues its final judgment. Alaska Attorney General John J. Burns, who represented the state in the case, and the Pebble Limited Partnership, an intervener in the l...