Saving Seafood

  • Home
  • News
    • Alerts
    • Conservation & Environment
    • Council Actions
    • Economic Impact
    • Enforcement
    • International & Trade
    • Law
    • Management & Regulation
    • Regulations
    • Nutrition
    • Opinion
    • Other News
    • Safety
    • Science
    • State and Local
  • News by Region
    • New England
    • Mid-Atlantic
    • South Atlantic
    • Gulf of Mexico
    • Pacific
    • North Pacific
    • Western Pacific
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Fishing Terms Glossary

ALASKA: Army Corps agrees to reconsider Pebble Mine permit denial

March 3, 2021 โ€” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will reconsider its decision denying a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine.

The agency has accepted an appeal application from the Pebble Limited Partnership. The Army Corps says the application is sufficient to begin an administrative appeal.

The Corps decided in November that Pebbleโ€™s plan to mitigate the environmental damage was inadequate and that the project doesnโ€™t serve the public. The open pit gold mine would be among the largest in the world. The site is upstream from Bristol Bay.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

Army Corps accepts appeal from developer of proposed Pebble mine but rejects Alaskaโ€™s appeal

March 2, 2021 โ€” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has accepted an appeal request from the developer of the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine in Southwest Alaska, keeping alive the companyโ€™s hopes that it could one day see the project developed after the Corps denied the project a key permit last year.

The Corps also rejected the state of Alaskaโ€™s request for an appeal, prompting a response from Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who said that the rejection sets a precedent that could put other projects on state land at risk.

โ€œThis is another example of the federal government imposing a flawed decision that blocks Alaskaโ€™s ability to responsibly develop its land and resources,โ€ Dunleavy said in a statement issued Friday.

The Corpsโ€™ Alaska District in November, under then-President Donald Trump, denied a permit for the project, calling it โ€œcontrary to the public interest.โ€

Read the full story at Anchorage Daily News

Alaskans pursue permanent protections for Bristol Bay

February 16, 2021 โ€” Robin Samuelsen still recalls his first meeting about the prospective Pebble Mine. It was around 2005 or 2006, in Dillingham, Alaska. Listening to an early plan for developing a copper and gold mine in the spawning grounds of Bristol Bayโ€™s abundant salmon, this Curyung tribal chief and commercial fisherman quickly made up his mind. โ€œYouโ€™ll kill off our salmon,โ€ Samuelsen remembers saying, adding: โ€œIโ€™ll be up there to stop you.โ€

More than 15 years later, in November 2020, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) denied the Pebble Mine a key permit, a sharp setback for the mine โ€” though not the first. Already, the mineโ€™s developer, Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP), has filed an appeal challenging that decision. PLP was joined by the State of Alaska, which, in an unusual move, filed its own appeal. Both appeals are currently under review.

Even before these latest developments, however, the people living around the Bristol Bay region had been trying to bring this long-running tug of war to rest once and for all.

Just as he promised at the meeting in Dillingham, Samuelsen is part of a tribally led campaign to garner permanent legal protection for the Bristol Bay regionโ€™s thriving wild salmon from large-scale mining proposals โ€” whether that be the Pebble Mine, or whatever comes next. Lindsay Layland, deputy director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB), which is involved in the effort, says the goal of the coalition is to find a way to legally prioritize the salmon that mean so much to the people living and fishing in the region.

Read the full story at High Country News

ALASKA: Bristol Bay leaders call to close the door on Pebble Mine

February 3, 2021 โ€” With appeals flying in efforts to overturn the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersโ€™ denial of the Pebble Mine permit in Alaskaโ€™s Bristol Bay, Bristol Bayโ€™s Tribes and residents have released a call for permanent protections for the region.

On Jan. 8, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced the stateโ€™s intentions to appeal the decision. The Pebble Partnership followed with a Jan. 21 filing, requesting the Army Corps of Engineers to reverse its denial of the proposed mineโ€™s Clean Water Act dredge and fill permit.

The appeals, say local leaders and fishery stakeholders, highlight the need for durable, long-term, lasting protections for the Bristol Bay region, as well as the need for an EPA veto of the proposed Pebble Mine itself.

โ€œWhile science prevailed when the Army Corps rejected the proposed Pebble Mineโ€™s Clean Water Act permit, this appeal shows that the Trump administration left the door open for the Pebble Partnership and Bristol Bay is far from safe,โ€ said SalmonState Executive Director Tim Bristol. โ€œThe first step is for the Biden administration to reestablish the Clean Water Act Protections previously in place. The second step is for Congress to protect the waters of Bristol Bay in perpetuity, as called for in Bristol Bay Tribesโ€™ and organizationsโ€™ Call to Protect Bristol Bay.โ€

Read the full story at National Fisherman

OP-ED: Governorโ€™s Pebble appeal ignores the law, science and voices of Alaskans

February 2, 2021 โ€” While Alaskans are looking ahead to a bright future for Bristol Bay, Gov. Mike Dunleavy continues to look backward and is seeking to keep the proposed Pebble Mine project alive through dubious legal tactics. The latest example of this is the stateโ€™s appeal of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersโ€™ decision to deny a key Clean Water Act permit for the project. The appeal is wrong on the law. It is wrong on science. And it is wrong for Alaskans.

Let us start with the legal arguments. The applicable regulations specify that only the party denied a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit can file an administrative appeal of that decision. Corps of Engineers guidance on the appeal process is equally specific, the process โ€œprovides permit applicants with an opportunity to seek a timely and objective reconsideration of an adverse permit decision,โ€ and โ€œthere is no third-party involvement in the appeal process itself.โ€ This is black and white. Moreover, the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP), the permit applicant, has already filed an appeal. At best, the stateโ€™s appeal is duplicative. At worst, it is an unlawful and wasteful action.

Second, the Corpsโ€™ permit denial is based on science and grounded in longstanding precedent. Pebble, even under the conservative 20-year mining plan that PLP itself acknowledges will expand considerably, would impact nearly 200 miles of streams and more than 4,500 acres of wetlands โ€“ with no plan to replace these significant losses. These streams and wetlands are part of the unique ecosystem that allows 50 million-plus sockeye salmon to return annually, supporting $1.5 billion in economic output and a millennia-old Alaska Native way of life. The Corpsโ€™ finding that the mine would cause significant damage to aquatic resources and is not in the public interest is wholly consistent with extensive scientific data and evidence.

Read the full opinion piece at the Anchorage Daily News

Pebble asks Army Corps to reconsider its mine plan in Southwest Alaska

January 25, 2021 โ€” Pebble Limited Partnership has filed an appeal with the Army Corps of Engineers, asking the agency to reconsider its application to build an open-pit gold mine upstream from Bristol Bay.

In November, the Army Corps rejected the application, saying the mine would not comply with the Clean Water Act. The mine would be built on state land, but dredging and filling in federal waters and wetlands requires a permit from the Corps.

Pebble Chief Executive John Shively says the decision was rushed, coming just days after the company submitted its final document โ€” a plan to compensate for damage to the area.

Read the full story at KTOO

Pebble petition: Alaska governor appeals on mineโ€™s behalf

January 15, 2021 โ€” On 8 January, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced the state would take action to appeal the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersโ€™ decision to deny a permit application for the Pebble Mine.

The Pebble Limited Partnership submitted its plan for a mine in Alaskaโ€™s Bristol Bay region almost two years ago. The 1,500-page document was immediately and widely panned by scientists, fishery managers, fishermen, and many representatives of Bristol Bayโ€™s Native tribes.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Pebble petition: Alaska gov appeals on mineโ€™s behalf

January 13, 2021 โ€” On Jan. 8, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced the state would take action to appeal the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersโ€™ decision to deny a permit application for the Pebble Mine.

The Pebble Limited Partnership submitted its plan for a mine in Alaskaโ€™s Bristol Bay region almost two years ago. The 1,500-page document was immediately and widely panned by scientists, fishery managers, fishermen and many representatives of Bristol Bayโ€™s Native tribes.

โ€œBristol Bay residents and Alaskans have been clear that we will not trade one of the worldโ€™s last robust salmon fisheries for a gold mine, and the Army Corps decision affirmed that this toxic project is too risky for our home and does not serve the public interest,โ€ said United Tribes of Bristol Bay Deputy Director Lindsay Layland, who participated in our Expo Online Pebble Mine panel in November.

Alaskans living and working in the region have fought the mineโ€™s development for more than a decade, primarily because of the risks it would pose to the wild salmon habitat. The benefits to the region, they have said, would be short term, since the mineral rights are owned by Pebbleโ€™s parent company, Northern Dynasty Minerals, a Canadian company.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Alaska governor plans appeal of mine project denial

January 11, 2021 โ€” Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the state will appeal the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersโ€™ rejection of a key permit for a proposed copper and gold mine in a region that supports the worldโ€™s largest sockeye salmon runs.

Dunleavy, in a statement Friday, called the corpsโ€™ decision flawed and said the state has to keep a federal agency โ€œfrom using the regulatory process to effectively prevent the State from fulfilling a constitutional mandate to develop its natural resources.โ€

The corps in November determined the project was โ€œcontrary to the public interest,โ€ a finding lauded as the right one by Alaskaโ€™s U.S. senators, who, like Dunleavy, are Republicans. The corpsโ€™ decision stood out following their release of an environmental review last summer that the developer of the Pebble Mine saw as positive and as laying the groundwork for key federal approvals.

Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., which owns the Pebble Limited Partnership, the company working to advance the project, also has said it will pursue an appeal.

Alannah Hurley, executive director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay, said itโ€™s โ€œpretty enragingโ€ that Dunleavy โ€œis proving that he will go above and beyond for this project.โ€

โ€œIt just shows how out of touch he is with Alaskans,โ€ she said.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Maine reviewing federal dredging project in Blue Hill area

January 11, 2021 โ€” Authorities in Maine are collecting public comments about the potential impact to the fishing industry of a proposed federal dredging project in the Blue Hill area.

The Army Corp of Engineers and town of Blue Hill want to create a federal navigation channel in Blue Hill Harbor. It would be an 80-foot wide channel from deep water to the town landing, documents state.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources is collecting comments about the potential impacts of the dredging until Jan. 25. The marine resources department will provide an assessment of the fishing industry impacts to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Read the full story at the Caledonian Record

  • ยซ Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • โ€ฆ
  • 8
  • Next Page ยป

Recent Headlines

  • US senator warns of warming, plastic threats to worldโ€™s oceans and fisheries
  • Younger consumers demanding more sustainable seafood products, European Commission data finds
  • Seafood companies are scrambling to move production, secure new supply chains in response to tariffs
  • Trump Faces Challenge to Offshore Wind Directive
  • Trump to allow commercial fishing in New England marine monument
  • California and 17 other states sue Trump administration over wind energy projects
  • Alaska Sen. Sullivan pushes U.S. government to complete key stock surveys, fight illegal fishing amid possible NOAA funding cuts
  • Horseshoe Crab Board Approves Addendum IX Addendum Allows Multi-Year Specifications for Male-Only Harvest

Most Popular Topics

Alaska Aquaculture ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission BOEM California China Climate change Coronavirus COVID-19 Donald Trump groundfish Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Hawaii Illegal fishing IUU fishing Lobster Maine Massachusetts Mid-Atlantic National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEFMC New Bedford New England New England Fishery Management Council New Jersey New York NMFS NOAA NOAA Fisheries North Atlantic right whales North Carolina North Pacific offshore energy Offshore wind Pacific right whales Salmon South Atlantic Western Pacific Whales wind energy Wind Farms

Daily Updates & Alerts

Enter your email address to receive daily updates and alerts:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Tweets by @savingseafood

Copyright ยฉ 2025 Saving Seafood ยท WordPress Web Design by Jessee Productions

Notifications