EPA Seeks to Protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay From Pebble Mine (2)

The EPA said Thursday it will seek to vacate a Trump-era decision that removed obstacles for the massive gold and copper Pebble Mine project to be built in southwestern Alaska.

If a federal court agrees to remand and vacate the 2019 withdrawal notice, the Environmental Protection Agency’s review process under the Clean Water Act would be restarted, and the agency would announce a schedule for “resuming a process to protect certain waters in the Bristol Bay watershed—including opportunities for public input,” the agency said.

In 2019, the EPA issued a notice withdrawing an Obama-era determination from 2014 issued under the ...