On Thursday local time, the Biden administration said on Thursday that it would restart a program to permanently halt the development of the Pebble Mine project, thereby permanently protecting the ecology of an important water area in Alaska.
Pebble Mine is one of the largest copper and gold deposits in the world, and if developed, the open-pit gold and copper mine will produce a total of more than 70 million tons of gold, molybdenum and copper ore each year.
But at the same time, the Bristol Bay basin in Alaska, where the mine is located, has world-class red salmon fishing grounds. If the gold and copper mine is developed, the mining project will use a lot of water resources, which will damage the local ecology and affect more than $1 billion in revenue and more than 10000 jobs in the local salmon industry.
In 2014, the Obama administration pushed for a review of Section 404 (c) of the Clean Water Act, which, if finalized, could permanently block the development of the Pebble Mine mine.
In 2019, the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency decided to withdraw the approval process under Section 404 (c) of the Clean Water Act and abolish the protection of the Bristol Bay basin. However, in November 2020, the Army Corps of Engineers under former President Donald Trump rejected a key water permit for the mine because Donald Trump Jr., a Republican U.S. Senator from Alaska and Trump's son, opposed the mining project. the latter lobbied to protect the region's fishing and hunting resources.
Now, the Department of Justice of the Biden administration has filed a document with the Federal District Court of Alaska asking for a formal reversal of the Trump administration's decision.
If the court approves the request, the review process under Section 404 (c) of the EPA Clean Water Act will be automatically resumed. Thus resuming efforts to protect the waters of the Bristol Bay basin.
Us Environmental Protection Agency Director Michael Reagan (Michael Regan) said: "the Bristol Bay Basin is a treasure in Alaska that highlights the key value of clean water in the United States." The key is to prevent the impact of pollution on Alaskan aborigines and to protect the sustainable future of North America's highest-yielding salmon fishing industry. "
Fifteen indigenous tribes living in the area welcomed EPA's statement and called for permanent protection of the basin. Robert Hayano, chairman of the Bristol Bay Joint Tribe, said: "the people of Bristol Bay expect the EPA to listen to scientific advice and complete its work to protect our land and waters."
