Another chapter is nearly over in Northern Dynasty Minerals’ (NDM) efforts to develop the proposed Pebble mine, and Pebble opponents hope it’s the final one.
NDM, along with the State of Alaska and two Alaska Native tribes, sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2024, seeking to overturn the agency’s 2023 decision to establish prohibitions/restrictions on certain mining activity near the Pebble mine deposit.
Federal Judge Sharon Gleason heard two and a half hours of oral arguments on the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in late June. Afterward, she indicated a decision would be coming “in the near term.”
A near-term decision is a significant milestone for all parties involved in the multi-year legal challenge. The defense is being led by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the EPA, joined by 23 intervenor-defendants, including Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC)*, tribes, commercial fishing organizations, and conservation groups.
During the oral arguments, DOJ attorneys Laura Brown and Mario Luna defended the EPA’s authority to use the Clean Water Act Section 404(c) to protect anadromous habitat from “unacceptable adverse effects.” She also rejected the plaintiff’s claims that recent Supreme Court rulings limiting wetland jurisdiction (Sackett) or agency deference (Loper Bright) invalidate the veto, citing direct statutory authority under CWA Section 404(c).
Judge Gleason’s decision in the case could be a straight ruling for or against the plaintiff’s arguments or could redirect the EPA to address some of those arguments, which will extend the process. The plaintiffs could also appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit.
In an interview with Dillingham’s KDLG, Dan Cheyette, BBNC’s Senior Vice President for Legal and Land, reflected on the region’s long-term commitment regardless of the outcome:
“Regardless of what happens, if there is more process, if this must go on, the people of Bristol Bay have been a part of this and fought this project from day one, and they will continue to do so. The folks that are concerned about what this mine might do to the region and its fisheries and its subsistence and culture, they’re not going away, and we will continue to be as invested as we have always been.”
*Pebble Watch is an impartial, educational initiative of Bristol Bay Native Corporation.