WILD ALASKA

their opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine because of its well-documented threat to Bristol Bay’s world-renowned salmon fishery,” said Nelli Williams, Trout Unlimited’s Alaska director. “The governor is ignoring Alaskans and science with this lawsuit. And even more appalling, he is using public funds to prop up out-of-state mining executives at the expense of Alaska’s salmon and all the people who rely on them. It’s anti-Alaskan.”

Earthjustice’s Alaska office had a similar take. Its press release said two of every three Alaskans oppose the Pebble Mine.

“The governor and his administration are working against the wishes of most Alaskans, especially Bristol Bay residents, by continuing to side with the mine developer,” said Carole Holley, Earthjustice’s regional managing attorney for Alaska.

Holley also referred to the lawsuit as “a highly unusual legal move, and also a highly unpopular one.”

STATE THROWING A HAIL MARY?

The governor and attorney general weren’t the only state officials getting involved. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and Alaska Department of Natural Resources also spoke out on behalf of the state’s lawsuit and called for the Supreme Court to get involved.

“Alaska’s Title 16 permitting process is designed to ensure conservation of fish and fish habitat. But these statutory protections were flouted by EPA before Alaska’s expert habitat and fish biologists had the opportunity to weigh in,” ADFG Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said. “The state’s career experts should be allowed to do their job without having Washington bureaucrats swooping in to prohibit an action before we even received a permit application.”

But the Bristol Bay Defense Fund, a coalition of Bristol Bay businesses, members of the fishing industry and tribal interests, called the state’s actions to get SCOTUS involved a “radical hail Mary.”

“In filing this lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court, the state of Alaska has completely disregarded the available avenues of judicial review to challenge a federal agency action by appeal through the federal courts,” Bristol Bay Defense Fund said in a statement. “The lawsuit is legally and factually unjustified – and is little more than a publicity stunt filed on behalf of an unscrupulous mining company, Pebble Limited Partnership, that has repeatedly misrepresented its record and misled regulators, its investors, Congress and the general public. The EPA’s authority to protect Bristol Bay under the Clean Water Act stands on an extensive and robust scientific and technical record that spans two decades and three presidential administrations.”

The coalition also stated that the appeal to SCOTUS disregards the majority of anti-Pebble Mine sentiment in the state.

“We will continue to defend Bristol Bay against the threat of the Pebble Mine and the state’s legal antics as long as necessary to ensure that the region, Tribes, salmon and clean water resources are protected forever,” vowed Bristol Bay Defense Fund. ASJ