"Pebble Partnership"

Pebble spokesperson Mike Heatwole said the announcement shows the company’s appeal holds water.

“Many of those who began this battle are no longer with us,” said Alannah Hurley, executive director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay. She called the EPA’s decision historic.

Casey Sixkiller, the Region 10 administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, has sent a recommendation to EPA headquarters to protect the area by vetoing the proposed mine.

The EPA announced the proposed ban Wednesday morning, using its authority under a section of the Clean Water Act.

A group called Environmental Investigation Agency recorded Pebble CEO Tom Collier speaking on a video conference call with people he thought were potential investors. They weren’t.

The timing of two of the appointments — along with the COVID-19 emergency — makes it possible that the appointees could set policy for Alaska’s commercial, sport and subsistence fisheries without first being confirmed by lawmakers.

The state’s opportunity to veto the project rests with the Department of Environmental Conservation. Its commissioner used to lobby for the Pebble Mine.

“The Corps finds that the project, as currently proposed, cannot be permitted under section 404 of the Clean Water Act,” the U.S. Army said in an official statement.

A coalition of groups is challenging EPA’s decision to throw out what some saw as a “preemptive veto” of the proposed copper and gold mine.

A Superior Court judge has dismissed a Pebble-backed lawsuit against Bristol Bay’s regional seafood development association.