Alaska Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth is currently deliberating the case of Nunamta Aulukestai versus the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the Pebble Limited Partnership, which pertains to exploration permits granted to developers for study of the proposed Pebble mine area.
The suit was brought against the State in July 2009 by Nunamta Aulukestai, an association of nine Bristol Bay village corporations. Nunamta challenged the constitutionality of the State’s process of issuing the exploratory permits to Pebble Partnership without providing public notice and also contended that current exploration is contributing to negative environmental effects.
The case went to trial in December 2010 and included testimony from 26 expert and lay witnesses over a nine-day period. State of Alaska Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth began deliberating the case when it concluded on December 17. Posttrial documents from the plaintiff and defendent have been submitted since then.
A verdict in the case could be handed down at any time and will be documented on the Alaska Trial Court Cases web site. Public access to the details of the case is available on the Superior Court web site.
The entire proceedings of the trial are available to watch online through a private news service called Courtroom View Network for a fee of $199.
Case description, list of witnesses.
Plaintiff’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law