Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay Could Be Back
House Republicans ask new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to reinstate Pebble Mine consideration
ICMN Staff March 5, 2017
As Scott Pruitt takes the helm of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. House Science, Space, & Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is urging him to reconsider the Pebble Mine proposal in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. Democrats have countered with a letter of their own, urging Pruitt to look at the three-year study that the EPA had conducted into the potential effects of such a mine. The project was shelved in 2014 after fierce local opposition, including from Native Alaskans, because of its threat to pristine habitat and a major wild sockeye salmon run.
Smiths request was based not on the environmental safety of what would be the western hemispheres largest copper and gold pit mine, but on the assertion that the EPA under President Barack Obama had overstepped its bounds in stymying the project under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act. That section allows the EPA to prohibit, restrict, deny or withdraw authorization for projects discharging dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S. whenever the agency finds an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas (including spawning and breeding areas), wildlife, or recreational areas, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The Committee recommends that the incoming Administration rescind the EPAs proposed determination to use Section 404(c) in a preemptive fashion for the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska, Smiths February 22 letter read. This simple action will allow a return to the long-established Clean Water Act permitting process and stop attempts by the EPA to improperly expand its authority. Moreover, it will create regulatory certainty for future development projects that will create jobs and contribute to the American economy.
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