Environmental issues surrounding the proposed Pebble mine got more complex on June 26, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it would resume consideration of proposed water pollution restrictions that have stalled development of the mine.
The EPA announces plans to resume consideration of whether to withdraw a proposed determination under section 404 (c) of the Clean Water Act to restrict use of the Pebble deposit area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material associated with the mine.
Bloomberg News reported that the announcement prompted stock for Northern Dynasty Minerals, Ltd., the parent company of the Pebble Limited Partnership in Anchorage, to jump as much as 28 percent in Toronto markets.
In a memo to EPA Region 10 director Chris Hladick on June 25 EPA General Counsel Matthew Leopold directed reconsideration of President Obama’s decision five years ago that restricted mine disposal plans under the Clean Water Act.
United Tribes of Bristol Bay, in Dillingham, called EPA’s decision “is a direct assault on the years of work Bristol Bay’s tribes have undertaken to protect our watershed. The announcement came less than two weeks after Leopold met with community leaders in Dillingham and said he had of intention of changing the status quo at that time, UTBB said.
“Such a move not only disenfranchises the millions of people who have weighed in supporting the proposed determination, but flies in the face of the federal government’s trust responsibility to consult with tribes on matters affecting their way of life,” UTBB said.
The EPA announcement came less than a week before the July 1 deadline for comment on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers draft environmental impact statement on the proposed mine.
According to Leopold’s memo, “EPA must at all times be committed to advancing a fair and predictable process on matters it is considering for both the project proponents and the public in a manner that allows views to be presented and adequately considered.”
The memo goes on to say the EPA must also “attempt to discharge our obligations in a manner that reduces confusion and uncertainty surrounding arcane regulatory processes.”
The Pebble mine, if developed, would produce some 70 million tons of copper, gold and molybdenum annually and create a pit 1,970 feet deep, according to the mine plan. Development would also entail development of a road, pipeline and power plant at a site near Lake Iliamna, between the headwaters of rivers draining into Bristol Bay.
