to roll back environmental protections that
would benefit oil and gas and other industries.
The Corps of Engineers also seemed to signal
just a few months ago that after almost two
decades of political wrangling, Pebble Mine
was on a fast track to approval, a reversal
from what many had expected under the
Obama administration.
But unlike drilling elsewhere in Alaska, the
mine proposed for the southwestern Bristol Bay
region could have negatively affected the state’s
billion-dollar fishing industry. Conservationists
and even Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.,
sounded the alarm on the project before the
administration changed course again.
The CEO of the Pebble Limited Partnership, the
mine’s developers, said he was dismayed by the
decision, especially after the corps had indicated
in an environmental impact statement in July
that the mine and fishery could coexist.
“One of the real tragedies of this decision is
the loss of economic opportunities for people
living in the area,” CEO John Shively said in a
statement. The environmental review “clearly
describes those benefits, and now a politically
driven decision has taken away the hope that
many had for a better life. This is also a lost
opportunity for the state’s future economy.”
He said they are considering their next
steps, which could include an appeal of the
corps’ decision.
“Today Bristol Bay’s residents and fishermen
celebrate the news that Pebble’s permit has
been denied; tomorrow we get back to work,”
said Katherine Carscallen, executive director of
the group Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay.Image: Becky Bohrer