The Pebble Partnership won’t receive a handout from the Trump administration – a welcome divergence from the blind fast tracking of any and all extraction projects. Last month, the Department of Justice issued a briefing affirming their defense to the EPA’s 2023 Clean Water Act veto for the massive open-pit copper mine proposed in the Bristol Bay watershed as part of an ongoing lawsuit.
After the veto, Northern Dynasty, the company behind Pebble, sued the EPA. Inletkeeper, along with several other organizations, intervened in the suit. It was uncertain whether this administration would continue to defend the EPA’s decision. Still, the unique economic and cultural vitality of Bristol Bay’s world-renowned fisheries secured the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) continued protection. The case will continue in the U.S. District Court for Alaska.
As we celebrate the DOJ’s affirming stance on Pebble’s unacceptable risk to Bristol Bay, we keep our eyes on the long-term solution: State-driven protections for the entire Bristol Bay watershed. The Bristol Bay Forever Act is currently under consideration in the AK State Legislature.
The Act would prohibit acid-generating mining activity within the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve. The Reserve, an existing protected area established by Governor Hammond to protect the fisheries economy and lifeways of Bristol Bay, already prohibits oil and gas operations. By amending the Reserve definition to preclude large-scale mining, this bill would once and for all close the book on Pebble, or any mines like it, intended to be developed in Bristol Bay.
Alaskans should contact their representatives to ask them to support the Bristol Bay Forever Act and protect Bristol Bay forever.