Posted on June 22 2015
Stopping Pebble Mine…We Aren’t There Yet!
“U.S. District Court Judge Holland today released a ruling in a
lawsuit filed by the Pebble Limited Partnership. The ruling allows the
case to proceed into discovery and temporarily keeps the Environmental
Protection Agency’s effort to protect Bristol Bay on hold. Judge Holland
did not rule on the merits of the claims, but only that the claims are
plausible, and could not be dismissed, as the Environmental Protection
Agency had requested in its motion.Though Pebble has succeeded in temporarily delaying the protections
proposed by the EPA, the facts remain: the EPA has authority under the
Clean Water Act to protect Bristol Bay; the people of Bristol Bay and
Alaska overwhelmingly oppose the Pebble mine; and if built, Pebble would
harm the region’s incredible wild salmon runs.“Today’s court ruling does not in any way change the fact that
putting a giant mine on top of Bristol Bay’s salmon runs remains a
horrible idea. The science has made this clear and Alaskans have
repeated over and over again that Pebble is the wrong mine in the wrong
place,” said Brian Kraft, owner of three sport-fishing lodges in Bristol
Bay. “Pebble’s sue-happy strategy is a slap in the face to the Alaskans
who depend on Bristol Bay salmon.”In addition, today’s ruling in no way confirms that the allegations
made by Pebble Limited Partnership are true. Instead, it means that the
claims of both sides must be considered before the Judge can come to a
conclusion on the matter.“We hope this will be addressed as quickly as possible since tens of
thousands of Alaskans who depend on Bristol Bay for jobs, income and a
way of life continue suffer from the same uncertainty they have had to
endure for over a decade now,” said Tim Bristol, manager for Trout
Unlimited’s Alaska program. “At this point, it’s clear that the Pebble
Limited Partnership is less a mine exploration company, and more a
collection of highly-paid lawyers and lobbyists whose jobs are to delay
Clean Water Act protections for salmon. When the science didn’t add up
and Pebble overwhelmingly lost in the court of public opinion, they set
out to derail the public process through waves of litigation.”Pebble Limited Partnership has now shed most of its mining operations, selling off equipment this spring.“We are confident that this lawsuit will result in the confirmation
that the EPA conducted a fair process to protect Bristol Bay salmon and
jobs from the threats posted by Pebble Mine,” said Bristol. “We look
forward to another productive fishing season this summer and will
continue to hope and fight for the day when the world-class fishery will
be free from the threat of Pebble mine.”
original content Trout Unlimited Alaska
photo Dave McCoy