ON JANUARY 30, 2023, after more than two decades of research, public input, litigation, appeals, and political controversy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its Final Determination for the proposed Pebble Mine area of Bristol Bay, in southeast Alaska, stating that mining of the Pebble deposit “will have unacceptable adverse effects on anadromous fishery areas in the Bristol Bay watershed.”
Specifically, under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act, the EPA prohibited the use of certain waters and wetlands within the watershed to be used “as disposal sites for certain discharges of dredged or fill material associated with development of a mine at the Pebble mining proposals in the area.
