pebblemine – Fishermens News

Conservationists File to Intervene in Pebble Mine Lawsuit

22May

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Conservationists File to Intervene in Pebble Mine Lawsuit

Over a dozen conservation entities have filed as intervenors in U.S. District Court in Anchorage in a lawsuit filed by a Canadian mining company seeking to overturn a federal decision on Clean Water Act safeguards that would prevent development of the proposed Pebble project. The intervenor litigants, who filed on May 17, contend that development of the copper, gold and molybdenum mine poses environmental danger to the region, its Alaska Native communities, resources, environment and economy. “As businesses that rely on Bristol Bay and its salmon fisheries, we know just how important the EPA’s Clean Water Act protections are,” Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association Executive Director Lilani Dunn said. “Bristol Bay is critical for providing high-quality, sustainable ...

Northern Dynasty, State of Alaska, Seek to Vacate EPA Veto on Pebble

17Apr

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Northern Dynasty, State of Alaska, Seek to Vacate EPA Veto on Pebble

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is continuing the state’s legal pursuit for the permitting of the proposed Pebble mine by asking the U.S. District Court in Alaska to find the Environmental Protection Agency’s order on state land in Bristol Bay unlawful. A complaint filed April 11 argues that the state is protecting its interests as the landowner from unlawful federal actions, including being dispossessed of its right to manage its own property. The Pebble prospect abuts the Bristol Bay watershed, home of the world’s largest run of wild sockeye salmon. The fishery annually provides thousands of jobs and contributes millions of dollars to the state’s economy. Opponents of the mine contend that the potential adverse environmental impact of the mine would prove a disaster for the fisher...

Pebble, State of Alaska, Back in Court Regarding Mine Defense

20Mar

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Pebble, State of Alaska, Back in Court Regarding Mine Defense

A Canadian mining company intent on building a copper, gold and molybdenum mine abutting the Bristol Bay watershed has renewed litigation, seeking to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency veto of permits for the Pebble Mine. The lawsuit filed in federal district court in Alaska on Friday, March 15, came on the heels of the state of Alaska’s lawsuit filed March 14 in the U.S. federal claims court asking for more than $700 billion in damages for state lands that Alaska contends were confiscated. Ron Thiessen, president and CEO of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (NDM) in Vancouver, British Columbia, said his company’s priority is to advance the district federal court complaint because overturning the illegal veto removes a major impediment from getting the permit to build the ...

Bristol Bay Entities Challenge State of Alaska Pebble Mine Lawsuit

15Nov

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Bristol Bay Entities Challenge State of Alaska Pebble Mine Lawsuit

Two Bristol Bay region entities have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to counter Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act veto of the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska. “EPA finalized Clean Water Act protections in Bristol Bay with the strong support of the people of our region and across Alaska,” said Russell Nelson, board chair of the Bristol Bay Native Corp. (BBNC), which has offices in Dillingham and Anchorage. The EPA’s work in Bristol Bay, Nelson said, “is grounded in solid science and an important regulatory obligation to protect the invaluable salmon resource that has sustained our people since time immemorial.” He also said in a Nov. 9 statement issued by BBNC and United Tribes of Bristol...

Pebble Permit Legal Battle Rises to U.S. Supreme Court

9Aug

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Pebble Permit Legal Battle Rises to U.S. Supreme Court

State of Alaska officials are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) veto of a Clean Water Act permit needed for construction of the Pebble copper, gold and molybdenum mine on property abutting the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon fishery. The “bill of complaint” filed by the state on July 26 argues that the EPA’s decision violates the state’s right to develop its natural resources for the maximum benefit of its people. “Bureaucrats in Washington D.C. are exercising unbridled and unlawful power to choke off any further discussion on this important decision affecting so many Alaskans,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said. “It’s an indefensible and unprecedented power grab that the U.S. Supreme Court should find unlawful,” Alaska Attorney General Treg ...

Northern Dynasty Settles With Disgruntled Shareholders re: Pebble Mine

14Jun

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Northern Dynasty Settles With Disgruntled Shareholders re: Pebble Mine

Northern Dynasty Minerals, the Canadian mining firm backing the proposed Pebble Mine in Southwestern Alaska, has reached a nearly $6.4 million settlement, through mediation, with a group of investors disgruntled about information they received on the project. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York noted that the law favors settlement, particularly in class actions and other complex cases because they tie up substantial judicial resources, use up the parties’ time and money, and, in such cases, litigation resolution is usually significantly delayed. This past Jan. 30, after over a dozen years of administrative review, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vetoed the proposed mine to protect the over $2 billion in annual revenue from the Bristol Bay wild s...

Biden Salutes Defense of Bristol Bay Salmon Fishery

17May

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Biden Salutes Defense of Bristol Bay Salmon Fishery

President Joe Biden celebrated his administration’s defense of the Bristol Bay watershed and other environmental achievements during a mid-May gathering at the White House’s Rose Garden with Alaska guests including tribal leaders and conservationists. “Bristol Bay is an extraordinary place, unlike anywhere in the world,” Biden said. “Six rivers meet there, traveling through 40,000 miles of tundra, wetlands and lakes, collecting freshwater and salmon along the way … making this the largest sockeye salmon fishery on all the earth.” The president spoke also of a number of other conservation achievements in ceremonies in the Rose Garden on May 11, while concentrating on the importance of the Southwest Alaska watershed where millions of sockeye salmon are harvested every summer by commercia...

Pebble Mine Decision: Litigation Likely to Follow Final Determination

7Dec

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Pebble Mine Decision: Litigation Likely to Follow Final Determination

A final determination on the future of a proposed copper, gold and molybdenum mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed could be handed down in February by the Environmental Protection Agency, but more litigation and possible deadline extensions could follow. Still, the announcement in early December by Casey Sixkiller, Regional 10 administrator for the EPA, that he had transmitted to the agency’s headquarters a Recommended Determination to prohibit and restrict use of certain waters in the watershed for certain discharges of dredged or fill materials from the mine got plenty of attention. Advocates for the Canadian-owned mine, a subsidiary of the diversified global mining group Hunter Dickenson in Vancouver, British Columbia, cried foul while opponents of the project hailed the possibil...

Congressional Report: Pebble Mine Owners Used ‘Bait And Switch’ Tactics

2Nov

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Congressional Report: Pebble Mine Owners Used ‘Bait And Switch’ Tactics

A new congressional report uses internal documents from the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) to demonstrate a sham permitting scheme designed to evade regulations and develop an open pit mine in the Bristol Bay watershed. The report, released in late October by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-CA, chair of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, said they sent evidence of false statements to the U.S. Attorney General’s office based on the report’s findings. The report recommends that Congress prevent future attempts to undermine the federal permitting process by ensuring that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies have the authority, training personnel and r...

EPA Extends Its Period of Consideration for Proposed Pebble Mine

14Sep

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EPA Extends Its Period of Consideration for Proposed Pebble Mine

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has extended its consideration period for proposed restrictions on mining at the proposed Pebble mine site in Southwest Alaska, this time until Dec. 2. The comment period was originally set to end in July, then continued to early September. While the comment period is now closed, the EPA is giving itself additional time to consider its decision. The crux of the issue is the potential adverse impact of the mine on the Bristol Bay watershed, home of the world’s largest run of sockeye salmon. The 2022 season was a record breaker for the millions of salmon caught in Bristol Bay, providing thousands of jobs to workers and millions of dollars to the industry and economy of Alaska. The EPA is currently faced with whether to withdraw proposed r...