Pebble Limited Partnership is calling on the US Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its preemptive veto of the Pebble copper mine and to refrain from further action against the now-stalled Pebble project in southwest Alaska, Kallanish reports.

The company, a subsidiary of Northern Dynasty Minerals, criticized the federal agency and accused it of massive overreach - one that sets a dangerous precedent. The EPA should allow the appeals process to continue to restore integrity to the permitting process. The EPA has also ignored the economic impacts of the project, the company says in responding to the EPA’s revised proposed determination on the project.

PLP ceo John Shively says: “The EPA’s proposed veto of Pebble is legally, environmentally and technically unsupported. The EPA action is premature, and it flies in the face of decades of regulatory precedent for fair and due process for development projects in Alaska and in the nation. The EPA’s actions are politically motivated, and … we spell out just how indefensible this veto process has become.”

The project has been rejected by the US Army Corps of Engineers and that decision has been appealed. The USACE says the project was non-compliant and not in the public interest. The company contends that the USACE rejection of the plan was arbitrary, contrary to law and fundamentally unsupported by the administrative record. The EPA then announced its special review. The EPA has ruled that the project would threaten the $2 billion Bristol Bay salmon fishery and cannot proceed. The companies say the project will not pose a threat to the fishery.

The Pebble mine holds 6.5 billion tonnes of measured and indicated resources averaging 0.40% copper, 0.34 g/t gold, 240 ppm molybdenum, 1.7 g/t silver and 0.41 ppm rhenium. It would be built 320 kilometres from Anchorage, Alaska.