Today, the United States Supreme Court rejected the State of Alaska’s lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Act veto of the Pebble Mine. Today’s decision means any challenge to EPA’s actions in Bristol Bay must go through the regular federal appeals process.

Today, the Bristol Bay region - represented by the United Tribes of Bristol Bay and the Bristol Bay Native Corporation - filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States to counter Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its Clean Water Act veto of the Pebble Mine. 

This week, Northern Dynasty Minerals — the company behind the recently rejected Pebble Mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska — announced they will release an assessment detailing the alleged economic benefits of a hypothetical operational mine.

Today, in a radical “hail Mary,” legal maneuver, the State of Alaska filed a lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final determination for the Pebble deposit. In doing so, the State ignores long established procedural rules regarding challenges of agency actions. Earlier this year, EPA issued 404(c) Clean Water Act protections to end the threat of the Pebble Mine due to the adverse risks it poses to Bristol Bay’s waters and the surrounding ecosystem.

This week, Northern Dynasty Minerals—the company behind the recently vetoed Pebble Mine—agreed to pay nearly $6.4 million to a group of investors who claimed they were misled about the size and scope of the proposed mining project in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Today, the Bristol Bay fishing season formally began, and it’s estimated that the 2023 sockeye salmon run will be more than 50 million fish. This is the first fishing season in decades that fishermen are gearing up for the first opener without the threat of the Pebble Mine—a proposed massive open pit mine at the headwaters of the Bay that would have produced up to 10.2 billion tons of waste—threatening the salmon that return each year, clean water, and health of the entire ecosystem. 

This week, in a decision refusing to overturn its November 2020 permit denial for the proposed Pebble Mine, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remanded a small number of issues raised in a January 2021 appeal filed by the Pebble Limited Partnership for further review by its Alaska District staff. The Army Corps rejected Pebble’s permit application in 2020 based on the agency’s conclusion that the proposed large-scale mine would pose “unacceptable adverse effects” to Bristol Bay’s pristine wetlands and world-class wild salmon fishery. The Alaska District will now document certain specific findings in the administrative record to clarify its permit decision.

This week, the Bristol Bay Defense Fund launched an advertisement campaign that urges the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to end the threat and veto Pebble Mine now. The ads state: “The recorded salmon runs have never been larger. The chorus of Alaskans has never been louder. Return peace to Bristol Bay, veto pebble mine now.”

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noticed its publication of a Proposed Determination (PD) regarding the Pebble deposit for Bristol Bay the next step in the process that brings EPA one step closer to enacting 404(c) Clean Water Act protections for the region.

The Bristol Bay Defense Fund — consisting of Tribes, commercial fishermen, sportsmen, businesses, and conservationists — is reminding the Biden administration to Finish the Job started by the Obama administration. The work to protect Bristol Bay begins by resuming the Clean Water Act 404(c) process to provide the Bay the lasting protection it needs. Activities marking the anniversary include a full-page ad in the New York times and digital advertising.

The Bristol Bay Defense Fund is launching a “Finish the job” campaign, a comprehensive outreach and media effort including new TV, digital, and print ads. The announcement follows a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan from the United Tribes of Bristol Bay urging him to visit the region to see “firsthand why this irreplaceable landscape must be protected.”