Supreme Court won’t fast-track Pebble question

State of Alaska and Northern Dynasty Minerals to fight EPA in federal district court

On January 8, the Supreme Court indicated that it wouldn’t hear the State of Alaska’s bill of complaint challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s exercise of its Clean Water Act, Section 404(c) authority related to the Pebble project. The state’s request had been highly unusual, as it skipped over federal district court and the federal court of appeals to plead its case directly to the Supreme Court.

In the face of the Supreme Court’s decision, the State of Alaska and Northern Dynasty Minerals have both indicated they will bring their arguments to the lower courts:

In a statement posted to social media, State of Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor said, “While SCOTUS did not pick up the case at this time, it does not indicate how the Supreme Court will ultimately rule on the merits. All this decision means is that we will take the more traditional route and file first in the federal district court. We will continue fighting for Alaska’s right to develop its resources through the federal court system.”

In a January 16 press release, Northern Dynasty Minerals said it expects to file its case within the next few weeks.