Search Results for: Pebble Mine

State lawsuit claims federal government owes Alaska $700 billion for quashing Pebble mine

The federal government owes Alaska more than $700 billion in compensation for the 2023 Environmental Protection Agency action that blocked development of the massive and controversial Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration claims in a lawsuit filed in a federal court. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in the District of Columbia, is part of a flurry of legal actions by the state and the mine’s would-be developer that seek to revive the massive copper and gold project. In its complaint filed Thursday with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the state cited an estimate for 100 years of production to support the $700 billion figure. And it said Alaska had been depending on Pebble development for its economic future. more, >>click to read<< 09:26

Big ripples – The Pebble Mine saga continues

In a move sure to anger Lower 48 environmentalists and much of Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has decided to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its blocking of a proposed Pebble Mine in the Iliamna Lake drainage of Southwest Alaska. And though the lawsuit is sure to upset many Alaska, it might be the last, best chance the state will ever get to secure the rights to self-government that Alaskans thought were granted at statehood in 1959. A variety of Alaska legal experts, both left and right, this week agreed the state’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is a crapshoot. One called it a classic “hail Mary.” Lots of links,>click to read< 13:01

Alaska leaders petition the US Supreme Court for reversal of EPA ban on Pebble Mine

The Dunleavy administration on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to block the controversial Pebble copper and gold mine. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in the statement, echoed arguments made in the brief assert the EPA action effectively confiscates state property and clashes with the Alaska constitution’s mandates. “Our constitution is clear: Alaska is responsible for utilizing, developing, and conserving all of the State’s natural resources for the maximum benefit of its people,” Dunleavy said in the statement. “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.” >click to read< 18:09

EPA Blocked Bristol Bay’s Proposed Pebble Mine

After two decades of legal wrangling, the EPA asked a court to restore environmental protections to Alaska’s Bristol Bay last week, shutting down a proposed gold mine that environmental activists contended would wreak havoc on an important salmon run and pollute an important watershed on the state’s southwestern coast. The agency made the ruling in response to a lawsuit brought by the mine’s opponents, including commercial fishermen, several Bristol Bay Native villages, and environmental organizations, putting an end to a controversy that dates back to the discovery of minerals in the region in the late 1980s. >click to read< – To read more about everything leading up to this, click here for Search Results for “Pebble Mine” – fisherynation.com 13:26

Sen. Dan Sullivan voices strongest opposition to Pebble Mine yet – “I oppose Pebble Mine. No Pebble Mine.”

After Sen. Dan Sullivan’s name was dropped by executives of Pebble Limited Partnership in secretly recorded tapes released this week, the senator has gone to Twitter to oppose the mine. In a tweet posted Thursday afternoon, Sullivan says, “Let me be even more clear: I oppose Pebble Mine. No Pebble Mine.” That tweet ended a thread of posts he started about the “lies of Pebble’s leadership” the senator said he needed to set the record straight.,,,   “Finally, I have been clear that given the important aquatic system and world-class fishery resources at stake, Pebble, like all resource development projects in Alaska, has to pass a high bard — a bar that the Trump administration has determined Pebble has not met,”, >click to read< 10:37

Trump set to block controversial Pebble Mine

The Army Corps of Engineers office in Alaska is planning to hold a conference call on Monday with groups connected to the proposed mine discuss the decision,,, Corps officials will say outstanding technical issues with a key permit remain, the people said, adding they anticipate Trump will then follow with a public statement opposing the project. The people said they’re not entirely sure what form Trump’s disavowal will take, although they said it is more likely to come as a rejection of the Army Corps of Pebble’s water permits rather than a veto from EPA, which earlier this year indicated it would not exercise that power. >click to read< 06:30

“The Case Against Alaska’s Pebble Mine” – Tucker Carlson goes after Pebble

Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson has become the latest influential conservative to voice concern about the proposed Pebble mine in southwest Alaska. Carlson said in his “The Case Against Alaska’s Pebble Mine” segment, there is a clear partisan split. But not with Pebble. “Suddenly,” Carlson said, “you are seeing a number of Republicans, including some prominent ones, including some very conservative Republicans, saying, ‘Hold on a moment, maybe Pebble mine is not a good idea. Maybe you should do whatever you can not to despoil nature. Maybe not all environmentalism is about climate.'” >click to read< 17:38

#PebbleMine: Donald Trump Jr. tweets opposition to Pebble Mine

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted opposition Tuesday to a massive copper and gold mining project in Alaska that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the final stages of deciding whether to permit. Trump Jr. commented on and retweeted a message from Nick Ayers, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. Ayers had posted: “Like millions of conservationists and sportsmen, I am hoping @realDonaldTrump will direct @EPA to block the Pebble mine in Bristol Bay. A Canadian company will unnecessarily mine the USA’s greatest fishery at a severe cost. This should be stopped and I believe @POTUS will do so!” >click to read< 06:24

Pebble Mine is closer to a federal permit; supporters and critics respond

Lisa Reimers is a board member of Iliamna Natives Limited. She supports Pebble’s development. Her and my dad they’ve both passed now, but they were both big supporters of resource development,” Reimers said. “They thought their families should work. This is a good project, and we want to see something positive happen out in the area. We don’t see any projects coming down the pipeline that would help the area and make it grow, so people can continue to live out there and prosper.”- Bristol Bay Native Corporation’s President and CEO Jason Metrokin says the report fails to really address these concerns. “The final EIS is really no different,” Metrokin says. “To have such significant changes during the process and the later weeks and months of the process just goes to show, at least in our opinion, that the process seems like it’s focused on a political timeline rather than a regulatory timeline.” >click to read< 12:36

Early release of Pebble Mine Final EIS triggers barrage of criticism

Thursday a wide array of Alaska Native, commercial fishing, and sportfishing groups issued statements criticizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Pebble Mine after copies of the document were delivered to interested parties via USPS a day before its publication in the Federal Register. The Final EIS is not a decision on whether the Pebble Partnership will receive the permits it needs to move forward with the mine, but rather it is a scientific document the Army Corps and U.S. Coast Guard will use to make permitting decisions. >click to read< 17:16

New analysis shows seismic risks related to Pebble Mine

New analysis commissioned by Bristol Bay fishermen contends that plans for the Pebble mine project and environmental review do not adequately account for seismic risks on the proposed mine site, putting the fishery and regional communities and cultures as risk for devastation. With the U.S Army Corps of Engineers expected to release its record of decision on a critical permit application for the mine in mid-July, concerns remain with fishermen and others opposed to the mine abutting the Bristol Bay watershed over seismic and other risks outlined in the report produced by Lynker Technologies, in Boulder, Colo. >click to read< 18:06

Foes of Pebble Mine lose a round in court

Opponents of the Pebble Mine lost one of their lawsuits Friday, when a federal court judge ruled against them. The case is about the so-called “pre-emptive veto” the Environmental Protection Agency issued during the Obama administration, before the Pebble Partnership filed its application for a proposed gold and copper mine in Southwest Alaska.,, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled Friday that the EPA could withdraw its proposed determination from 2014. Her decision was based on how much latitude government agencies have and what is subject to legal review, rather than the merits or dangers of the Pebble Mine. >click to read< 11:12

Pebble mine opponents say process is being rushed, groups to hold town hall Tuesday night

Opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine are in Juneau this week to meet with lawmakers and raise opposition to the construction of a mine 100 miles north of Bristol Bay. The project, which has been a source of controversy for years, is currently undergoing an environmental review process by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.,, Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay, United Tribes of Bristol Bay and other anti-Pebble Mine groups will hold a town hall event Tuesday night at the NEA-Alaska building at 201 Main St. at 5 p.m >click to read< 08:49

‘You’re not listening to the science’: Pebble Mine fight aired at US House hearing

For Alaskans opposed to the Pebble Mine, a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday was an opportunity to raise the issue on a national stage, and to ask Congress to stop the proposed gold and copper mine upstream from Bristol Bay. But Alaska Congressman Don Young made it clear he didn’t think much of the hearing. He said he’s neither for nor against the mine, but he believes in science-based decision-making.,, The hearing produced sparks and several impassioned speeches, but no specific legislation.>click to read< 11:00

Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay thanks House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for looking into flawed Pebble Mine permitting process

This morning in Washington D.C., the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hosted an oversight hearing to look into critical issues surrounding the permitting process for the proposed Pebble Mine. Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay wishes to thank committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chairwoman Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), co-chairs of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment for shining a light on Pebble’s deeply flawed and rushed permitting process. >click to read< 22:04

What to watch for as Pebble Mine permitting process picks up, with link to live hearing @10:00

As the timeline shortens, developments are picking up at a rapid pace. Wednesday morning, seven witnesses are scheduled to testify before the U.S. House Transportation Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. Aside from Pebble Partnership CEO Tom Collier, all other witnesses have been critical of the proposed project. Thursday is the deadline for the EPA to notify the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers whether it believes the proposed mine will have a “substantial and unacceptable impact on aquatic resources of national importance.” >click to read< 08:05

The Pebble Mine Project: Process and Potential Impacts, hearing starts at 10:00 today, >click to listen in<

Legislators say Pebble mine could spark a cataclysmic mistake

Claims of Gov. Mike Dunleavy to a potential investor in the Pebble mine project that the state will actively help defend the project from “frivolous and scurrilous attacks” are drawing a sharp rebuttal from 20 Alaska legislators and the Bristol Bay Native Corp. In their Sept. 9 letter to Randy Smallwood, president and chief executive officer of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., in Vancouver, British Columbia, the legislators said that while the mine “may provide some economic benefit to Alaska, it sits near the headwaters of the largest salmon run in the world. Dewatering and re-routing these headwaters could devastate our cherished resource, as would a single cataclysmic mistake.” >click to read<  13:28

Pebble Mine: Commercial Fishermen, Indigenous People Unite to Fight Mine in Alaska

The Pebble Mine is a large deposit of gold, copper and molybdenum located at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. The deposit was first discovered in the 1980s and multinational corporations began seriously pursuing its development in the 2000s. Those who want to develop the mine say it will create high-paying jobs for locals and reduce America’s dependence on foreign countries for the provision of raw materials. Opponents say toxic discharge from the mine could foul the home of the world’s largest salmon run, bankrupting the mammoth fishing industry and destroying the local ecology. “It’s one of the unique things about this whole fight,”,,, >click to read< 10:40

EPA kills proposed Obama-era Pebble mine ‘veto’

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday it will reverse an Obama-era decision to block a controversial Alaska mine project. “After today’s action EPA will focus on the permit review process for the Pebble Mine project” Region 10 Administrator Chris Hladick said in a statement. While the EPA is withdrawing the 2014 determination, which it wrote “was issued preemptively and is now outdated,” the withdrawal does not constitute an approval of the permit application or a determination in the permitting process. “Instead, it allows EPA to continue working with the Corps to review the current permit application and engage in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process,” the statement reads. >click to read< 19:19

Today – July 1 – is the last day to comment on the plans to build the Pebble Mine near Bristol Bay. It takes only minutes to do so.

The link below is from Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay and provides a suggested comment: Please take a minute to send the Army Corps the message that we do not want the Pebble Mine. The link below goes directly to the US Army Corps of Engineers: Comments can be made here on the plans for the Pebble Mine. >click to read/comment< 19:25

Bristol Bay fishermen renew call for input on Pebble Mine as commercial fishing season opens

Commercial fishing season is underway in Bristol Bay; but instead of focusing all their attention on their catches, fishermen are focused on the future the Pebble Mine could have on their livelihood. The public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement closes July 1. “Our industry in Bristol Bay is in the fight of our lives against relentless attempts by the Pebble Limited Partnership, fueled by a ‘dig baby dig’ attitude from the US Army Corps of Engineers, to develop the world’s largest and most dangerous open pit mine at the headwaters of our fishery,” >click to read<. a lot of info, and some links to comment. 16:55

EPA officials visit Dillingham to gather opinions on Pebble Mine

Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency arrived in Dillingham Thursday morning, meeting with fishers and community leaders to gather opinions on the proposed development of Pebble Mine. “It’s important to hear people’s views on all sides of the issue,” said Matt Leopold, the EPA’s general counsel. “And here in Dillingham I can tell right away that people are opposed to the project.” >click to read<11:33

Opinion: We are an Alaska Native Corporation that backs Pebble Mine. Here’s why.

The proposed Pebble Mine places Alaska Peninsula Corporation in a unique and challenging position. Some shareholders oppose it, yet many support the economic benefits to community and personal well-being. Somehow through it all, we must strike balance.,,, There’s a common belief that resource development will kill the fishery. Unless one takes time to understand Alaska’s permitting process and proposed development at Pebble, one may likely continue to believe what certain environmental groups frequently publicize — worst case scenarios resulting from antiquated development standards of the past.  At APC, our leadership doesn’t have the luxury of making emotional decisions. Every aspect must be considered. >click to read< By Brad Angasan 16:20

Army Corps releases Pebble Mine draft EIS hearing schedule

The Army Corps of Engineers published the draft EIS last week, sparking comment from both Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan. Murkowski said she has not made it all the way through the EIS but has started digging into the 1,400 page document. Sullivan met with reporters last week in Juneau, telling them he felt that 90 days is too short for a comprehensive comment period. The public comment period for the draft EIS will begin March 1 and end May 30, according the Pebble project website. Public hearings will be held in nine different communities between March 25 and April 16. The full schedule is as follows: <click to read<09:50

State won’t support Pebble Mine, unless it can prove ‘zero impact’

Gov. Bill Walker wants to press pause on the controversial Pebble Mine project in Southwest, Alaska. Pebble is seeking federal permits on a smaller mine proposal, about half the size of the one it began pursuing more than a decade ago. But in a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers on Friday, Walker urged suspension of a critical piece of that process — the environmental impact statement — calling for proof of a “feasible and realistic” project first. “This is something that we’ve looked at very carefully, and we feel like even the project proponents are unsure of the size of this project,” said Andy Mack, Commissioner of the Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources.,, >click to read<10:45

Deadline to comment on Pebble Mine is 5 P.M. today

Please be aware that 5:00 p.m. today is the deadline to submit comments on the second proposed Pebble Mine. Online, it might only take a few minutes. Many people thought the mine wouldn’t be built, but that is not the case. The project is moving forward and a second Pebble Mine proposal is in the works. Please submit your comment online at Pebble Project EIS at www.pebbleprojecteis.com or mail comments to Program Manager, Regulatory Division U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, PO Box 6898, Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, AK 99506-0898. >click to read<10:06

Norm Van Vactor: The Pebble mine is going nowhere. Time for Northern Dynasty to admit it.

Northern Dynasty Minerals, a Vancouver-based mining company, is hosting its annual shareholder meeting this week to discuss the Pebble mine: a massive open-pit copper and gold mine the company wants to develop at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. The plan calls for digging up and dewatering many miles of streams where our salmon spawn. Those same streams are responsible for the chinook and coho salmon that indigenous people throughout the watershed rely on for their subsistence harvests. Those same streams provide the wilderness fishing experience that many visitors come from around the world to experience. These streams are the basis of our livelihoods, communities and culture. And they are no place for a mine. >click to read<14:55

Pebble Mine: In reversal, EPA deals setback to controversial gold mining proposal in Alaska

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced late Friday that he will not scrap the agency’s 2014 determination that a large-scale mining operation could irreparably harm Alaska’s Bristol Bay water­shed.,, The announcement said the decision “neither deters nor derails the application process” for the mine. “It is my judgment at this time that any mining projects in the region likely pose a risk to the abundant natural resources that exist there,” Pruitt said. “Until we know the full extent of that risk, those natural resources and world-class fisheries deserve the utmost protection.” >click here to read< 08:54

Pebble mine opponents at Dillingham meeting hammer EPA for changed course

In close to four hours of public testimony, dozens of people told EPA staffers that large-scale mining threatens a fishery and way of life in Bristol Bay. The unanimous opinion given during Wednesday’s meeting in Dillingham, held in the middle of the work day, was that the EPA should finalize preemptive Section 404(c) Clean Water Act restrictions, not withdraw them and wait for an environmental impact statement. click here to read the story 09:30

Gold vs. Salmon: How Pebble Mine Threatens Alaskan Salmon

The environment and natural resources have been a topic of great controversy in the United States and throughout the world, especially in recent years. We have always had a battle between industrialism and conservation. From one end, profits must grow, jobs must be made, and mouths must be fed. Yet from the other end, we must protect our planet, the environment, and the many species of wild animals that roam the globe.,,, In Alaska there is a hot debate going on between which is more important, salmon or gold. In 2001 a Canadian mining company called Northern Dynasty Minerals began exploring and testing an area of Alaska that is located East of Bristol Bay, North of Lake Iliamna and South West of the Lake Clark Natural Reserve. They were going off of data provided by Cominco Alaska Exploration, who in 1987 discovered a site of possible mineral wealth in the region.,,, If this article has moved you, then please do not sit idly by. Thank you Nikolai!  click here to read this excellent article 14:23