In Major Reversal, Trump Administration Denies Permit for Pebble Mine
WASHINGTON – The Army Corps of Engineers today denied a permit for Pebble Mine, the massive gold and copper mine proposed for construction at the headwaters of Bristol Bay in southeastern Alaska.
The following is a statement from Joel Reynolds, senior attorney with the Nature Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council:
“Amen to certainty for this cherished area, the tribes and community of Bristol Bay, and its wildlife and waters. This region has been whip-sawed with uncertainty about its fate for a decade, and this move recognizes there was never any way to mitigate the harm Pebble Mine would do.
“The next step is for the Environmental Protection Agency to use section 404c of the Clean Water Act to permanently protect this national treasure from large scale mining for all time.”
BACKGROUND:
Bristol Bay, Alaska is home to the world’s most productive salmon fishery, which generates $1.5 billion in annual revenue and 14,000 jobs. Salmon have also sustained the subsistence culture of Alaska Natives for millennia.
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