ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The nation’s top environmental official said he fully supports his agency’s decision to block a proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay, even as the state of Alaska has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn that action.
“Let me be clear, we are very proud of our decision to really evaluate the Pebble Mine project and do what is necessary to protect Bristol Bay,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday as he began a four-day tour of Alaska, starting in a Bristol Bay village.
The EPA in January vetoed the proposed Pebble Mine, citing concerns with possible impacts on the aquatic ecosystem in southwest Alaska that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. The region also has significant mineral resources.
Last month, the state of Alaska asked the nation’s high court to intervene.
“The EPA’s order strikes at the heart of Alaska’s sovereignty, depriving the State of its power to regulate its lands and waters,” according to the court filing.
The EPA and the Department of Justice are reviewing the complaint and have until late next month to file an optional response, Regan said.,
Regan’s first stop will be in the Bristol Bay village of Igiugig, located about 250 miles (402 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, where Lake Iliamna feeds the Kvichak River. The village’s