Alaska asks US Supreme Court to undo EPA Pebble mine veto

Northern Dynasty Minerals

26/07/2023 23:02

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      State says EPA veto violates state sovereignty, old land
deal
    

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      EPA's veto prohibited mining waste dumping into Bristol
Bay
    

  
    By Clark Mindock
       (Reuters) - The state of Alaska on Wednesday asked the
U.S. Supreme Court to vacate a Biden administration veto
blocking Northern Dynasty Minerals'  NDM.TO  proposed Pebble
copper and gold mining project, arguing the move violated a
decades-old land swap deal and the state’s sovereignty.
    The lawsuit asked the high court to reverse the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act veto. The
agency’s January decision determined the Pebble project would
cause large-scale loss and damage to the Bristol Bay watershed,
and prohibited the project from dumping mining waste into those
waters.
    Alaska said the restrictions violate the state’s sovereign
right to regulate its lands and waters, as well as a 1976 land
swap with the U.S. government that gave the state ownership over
the area in question.
    The EPA’s decision illegally blocks development that is
“critical to the continued well-being of Alaska, which has long
relied on its resource-rich lands to fund the state and local
governments,” the state said.
    The EPA said it is reviewing the filing. A representative
for Northern Dynasty didn’t immediately respond to a request for
comment Wednesday.
    John Shively, chief executive of Northern Dynasty's Pebble
LP unit, which is overseeing the project, said in January that
the EPA's decision was unlawful and would hurt the state's
economy.
    The Bristol Bay watershed in southwestern Alaska supports
the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and is known for its
large mineral resources. The watershed also provides habitat for
29 species of fish, more than 190 birds and dozens of mammals,
according to the EPA.
    The proposed mine would tap one of the world’s largest
copper and gold deposits. The EPA claims it would permanently
destroy over 2,000 acres of wetlands.
    Alaska’s lawsuit was filed directly with the Supreme Court,
instead of first going through lower courts, which Alaska
Attorney General Treg Taylor said in a statement is an
“extraordinary ask” that is needed because the EPA’s decision
was itself “extraordinary.”
    The case is State of Alaska v. United States, U.S. Supreme
Court, No. not immediately available.
    For Alaska: Attorney General Treg Taylor; Ronald Opsahl of
the Alaska Department of Law; and Michael Connolly and Gilbert
Dickey of Consovoy McCarthy
    For the U.S.: Not yet available