SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] — September 25, 2014 — The group behind the Pebble Mine project has two lawsuits pending over the decision by the EPA to use the 404 process to premptively declare that large scale open pit acid mining cannot be done safely enough to comply with national requirements for Bristol Bay watershed protection standards.
According to Northern Dynasty, the suits include one in which the State of Alaska is co-plaintiff that challenges EPA's statutory authority to pre-emptively impose development restrictions on Pebble prior to the submission of a proposed development plan. The second suit charges that EPA has not complied with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in preparing the Bristol Bay Assessment study, upon which the Section 404(c) regulatory process is largely based.
A federal judge in Alaska has released a notice recognizing that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreement not to take the next step to advance its Clean Water Act Section 404(c) regulatory process with respect to southwest Alaska'sPebble Project until at least January 2, 2015.
A federal judge plans to decide by Dec. 3 whether to grant Pebble's request to enjoin EPA from moving further, pending resolution of the case.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.