Skip to main content

In reversal, US EPA halts approval process for Alaska mine project

A worker with the Pebble Mine project digs in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska near the village of Iliamma, Alaska. (Source: AP/File)
In a surprise move, the US Environmental Protection Agency reversed itself on Friday and halted the approval process for the proposed Pebble Mine copper and gold mine project in southwest Alaska’s region.
“It is my judgment at this time that any mining projects in the region likely pose a risk to the abundant natural resources that exist there,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement.
President Donald Trump has championed increased domestic mining and the EPA’s decision to halt the Pebble Mine’s approval process comes as a surprise. “Until we know the full extent of that risk, those natural resources and world-class fisheries deserve the utmost protection,” Pruitt said.
The Obama administration blocked the proposed mine in 2014 over environmental concerns. Last year, Pruitt reversed that decision, allowing the Canadian company behind the mine project to apply for a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The Pebble Limited Partnership, comprising Canadian miners Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd and First Quantum Minerals Ltd, is planning to mine 1.2 billion tons of material, including 287 million pounds of copper.
Environmentalists, commercial and sport fishermen, many Alaska Native tribal organizations and even some Republican politicians have all criticized the project, which would be built on land near Lake Clark National Park.
Alaska Governor Bill Walker, an independent, applauded the decision and thanked Pruitt “for listening to my input and that of thousands of Alaskans” who oppose the mine.
Pruitt indicated the mine could ultimately be approved. “This decision neither deters nor derails the application process of Pebble Limited Partnership’s proposed project,” he said.
“The project proponents continue to enjoy the protection of due process and the right to proceed. However, their permit application must clear a high bar, because EPA believes the risk to Bristol Bay may be unacceptable,” he said.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Venezuela seeks Interpol red alert for ex-oil czar Rafael Ramirez

Venezuela’s representative to the United Nations Rafael Ramirez poses for a photograph at the United Nations in Manhattan, New York, US. (Source: REUTERS/File Photo) Venezuelan authorities said on Thursday they were seeking an Interpol red alert for ex-oil czar Rafael Ramirez on corruption charges, heightening tensions between the former political heavyweight and the country’s socialist government. Ramirez, who headed the powerful oil ministry and state energy firm PDVSA for a decade, is a longtime rival of President Nicolas Maduro who has become more critical of his handling of the economy, now in its fourth year of recession. State prosecutor Tarek Saab said in a press conference that Venezuela was seeking the arrest of Ramirez for corruption tied to the period when he was commanding the world’s largest crude reserves. “No crying, citizen Ramirez … You have been pointed out by all, including by national public opinion, as one of the main embezzlers and culprits of the …...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beijing’s struggle against pollution will be tough, take time: Mayor

Beijing’s battle against air pollution will take time and be very tough to win despite recent improvements, the acting mayor of China’s capital said on Wednesday. The city has been fighting to clean its notoriously smoggy air through steps such as pushing households and factories to switch away from coal to cleaner fuels like natural gas. “Further improvement in air quality (will be) extremely difficult,” acting mayor of Beijing, Chen Jining, said in a statement released during the city’s congress meeting. The central government’s intense focus on air quality means many local officials’ careers are linked to the success of efforts to tackle smog, making it unusual to speak candidly about the challenges of meeting tough targets. Beijing has chalked up a short-term success by cutting the annual average level of breathable particulate matter (PM 2.5) to 58 micrograms per cubic metre in 2017, beating a target set by the State Council in 2012. However, the city is still some way f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vietnam jails former oil execs in high-profile graft case

Trinh Xuan Thanh, center, is led to a court room by police in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, January 22, 2018. (Source: AP/PTI) A former oil executive was sentenced to life in prison and a former high-ranking Vietnamese government official received a lengthy prison term Monday at the end of a major corruption trial. The 22 defendants in the case were mostly current or former executives at PetroVietnam and were convicted of mismanagement, embezzlement or both in their tenures at the state energy giant. Former PetroVietnam chairman Dinh La Thang, the first Politburo member to be jailed in decades, was sentenced to 13 years in jail by the People’s Court in the capital Hanoi. He was accused of deliberate economic mismanagement that cost the state millions. Trinh Xuan Thanh, an ex-chairman of PetroVietnam’s construction arm, was given life imprisonment for embezzlement. Thanh was also convicted of economic management. Germany accused Vietnam agents of snatching him from a Berlin park l...
Post a Comment
Read more