EPA asks Alaska District Court to reject Pebble request to halt veto process until permit issued
SEAFOODNEWS.COM EPA [Inside EPA] by -- David LaRoss - Sept. 2, 2014
EPA and environmentalists are asking a federal district court to allow the agency to proceed with its consideration of a novel preemptive Clean Water Act (CWA) veto of disposal sites for the planned Pebble Mine in Alaska during existing litigation over the veto process, saying industry has failed to provide justification to stay the veto review.
The Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP), which is developing the mine in Bristol Bay, AK, has "no likelihood of success on the merits" of their challenge to the EPA's authority to issue a preemptive veto, argues the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the agency's behalf in an Aug. 18 brief. DOJ says plaintiffs' core claim in the case -- that EPA can only issue a veto after PLP applies for a permit -- is based on a "wholesale misreading" of the water law. Relevant documents are available on InsideEPA.com. (Doc. ID: 2479726)
PLP has announced plans for the mine and done general exploratory work since 2002 but has not yet applied for a CWA section 404(c) dredge-and-fill permit for the mining project, including disposal sites.
EPA, under pressure from environmentalists and local conservation groups, has launched a rare investigation of whether to invoke its 404(c) authority to veto disposal sites...
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