Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit to Reverse EPA Protections for Bristol Bay

WASHINGTON — The United States Supreme Court today rejected the State of Alaska’s unusual lawsuit seeking to challenge, directly in that court, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Act veto of the Pebble Mine. The decision means any challenge to EPA’s actions in Bristol Bay must go through the regular federal appeals process instead. 

The following is a statement by Joel Reynolds, Western Director and senior attorney for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). 

"The Supreme Court has properly rejected the Dunleavy Administration’s ‘Hail Mary’ challenge to EPA’s veto of the Pebble Mine. 

“Yet this reckless zombie project, advanced by a Canadian company over the objections of Alaskans for decades, remains an imminent threat. Without federal legislation put in place to provide permanent protections, Bristol Bay will inevitably continue to face merciless pressure for large-scale mining in its headwaters, despite all effort to preserve this national treasure.” 

For more information on this decision, visit Joel's blog here. For a timeline on efforts to protect Bristol Bay, visit Joel’s 2023 Pebble Mine recap blog.

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.