This week the U.S. House of Representatives addressed the Pebble Limited Partnership’s counterattack to the Environmental Protection Agency’s “predetermined” and early effort to halt the proposed mine in Bristol Bay.
An investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found the EPA had no legal footing and took “highly questionable” actions.
The report recommends the agency revoke its proposed decision to restrict the development of the mine which was issued before permits could be submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for approval.
The EPA asserts that it relied on “detailed mining plans” filed by the Pebble Partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission to assess potential impacts of the proposed large-scale mine at the headwaters of the valuable Bristol Bay fishery.
The House committee stated the most concerning finding was that “EPA employees frequently provided sensitive information to mine opponents.”
One example included in the committee’s findings was that former EPA employee Phil North helped draft one of the tribal petitions that the agency later claimed to rely on for their decision.
U.S. District Court Judge Russel Holland has ordered North to appear in Anchorage for deposition on November 12.
