Current:Home > ScamsEPA head says he’s ‘proud” of decision to block Alaska mine and protect salmon-rich Bristol Bay-LoTradeCoin
EPA head says he’s ‘proud” of decision to block Alaska mine and protect salmon-rich Bristol Bay
View Date:2024-12-23 19:44:35
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — 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 68 residents comprised mostly of Indigenous people lead a subsistence lifestyle, relying mostly on salmon.
Regan planned to talk to tribal leaders about solid waste management issues and energy generation, but also “to highlight the significance of our decision around Pebble Mine, to protect the bay for environmental and cultural, spiritual and sustenance reasoning.”
When asked if there are other actions EPA could or should take to block the mine if the state were to prevail, he said their process is to follow the science and law on a project-by-project basis, the way the agency evaluated the Pebble Mine proposal.
“I feel really good about the decision we made,” he said.
Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. owns the Pebble Limited Partnership, which has pursued the mine. As proposed, the project called for a mining rate of up to 73 million tons a year.
Regan planned to discuss environmental justice concerns, climate change, subsistence food security, water infrastructure and pollution from contaminated lands conveyed through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act during his first visit to the nation’s largest state.
Discussions will also include how the EPA might help support community projects with money provided with the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, or the climate and health care bill passed last year.
Other stops will be in Utqiagvik, the nation’s northernmost community formerly known as Barrow; Fairbanks; Anchorage, and the Native Village of Eklutna, located just north of the state’s largest city.
Alaska became the fourth stop on what is billed as Regan’s “Journey to Justice” tour to learn how pollution has affected people. Previously, visits were made to Puerto Rico; McDowell County, West Virginia, and one that included stops in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.
Regan is not the only Biden administration official set to visit. U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge will address housing needs in Alaska later this week.
Other administration officials who have visited this summer include U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
veryGood! (12464)
Related
- Family of security guard shot and killed at Portland, Oregon, hospital sues facility for $35M
- WWE announces Backlash will be outside US in another international pay-per-view
- Judge declares mistrial after jury deadlocks in trial of ex-officer in deadly Breonna Taylor raid
- AP PHOTOS: Mongolia’s herders fight climate change with their own adaptability and new technology
- Steelers shoot for the moon ball, but will offense hold up or wilt in brutal final stretch?
- California scientists seek higher pay in three-day strike drawing thousands of picketers
- Why Drew Barrymore Has Never Had Plastic Surgery
- Texas man arrested in killings of aunt and her mother, sexual assault of his cousin, authorities say
- Republican Scott Baugh concedes to Democrat Dave Min in critical California House race
- 'Laguna Beach' star Stephen Colletti gets engaged to reporter Alex Weaver: 'Yes! Forever'
Ranking
- It's about to be Red Cup Day at Starbucks. When is it and how to get the free coffee swag?
- Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels is likely out for season but plans return in 2024
- 'I did what I had to do': Man rescues stranger after stabbing incident
- General Motors becomes 1st of Detroit automakers to seal deal with UAW members
- 13 escaped monkeys still on the loose in South Carolina after 30 were recaptured
- Eminem's Daughter Hailie Jade Shares Glimpse into Romantic Cabo Trip With Fiancé Evan McClintock
- Judge allows Ja Morant’s lawyers to argue he acted in self-defense in lawsuit about fight with teen
- 81 arrested as APEC summit protest shuts down the Bay Bridge in San Francisco
Recommendation
-
Oil Industry Asks Trump to Repeal Major Climate Policies
-
Adriana Lima Has the Ultimate Clapback to Critical Comments About Her Appearance
-
90 Day Fiancé’s Darcey Silva Marries Georgi Rusev in Private Ceremony
-
At a Global South summit, Modi urges leaders to unite against challenges from the Israel-Hamas war
-
Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
-
Kentucky governor announces departure of commissioner running troubled juvenile justice agency
-
Police rescue children, patients after armed gang surrounds hospital in Haiti
-
NYC will pay $17.5 million to man who was wrongly convicted of 1996 murders