Al Capone's Vault

[Captain Black Bob Blanco]

https://conservativetribune.com/trump-alaska-gold-mine/

Trump Makes Alaska Great Again, Brings Back Gold Mine Obama Nearly Buried
DECEMBER 26, 2017

For Donald Trump, making America great again doesn’t just stop with the lower 48.

According to Fox News, a permit application has been filed with the Trump administration to move forward with the Pebble Mine, a mining project that was nearly buried under the regulatory heft of the Obama administration.

The Pebble Limited Partnership, which is a subsidiary of Northern Dynasty Minerals, has filed a wetlands-fill permit request with the Army Corps of Engineers for the proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

The permit application was a major step in a plan that was thought to be dead under the Obama administration, but has seen new life since Trump took office.

“At the outset of 2017, we established three ambitious corporate objectives for Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project,” a statement from Northern Dynasty President and CEO Ron Thiessen read.

“We committed to reaching a resolution with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to restore the Pebble Project to normal course permitting, to re-partnering on the Pebble Project and to initiating permitting under (National Environmental Policy Act).

“As we approach the end of the year, I’m proud to report that we will hit our mark on all three important milestones.”

In 2014, the Pebble Mine was blocked under Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency even before Northern Dynasty submitted plans for it.

The decision was based around Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act, which allows the EPA to “restrict, prohibit, deny or withdraw the use of an area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material if the discharge will have unacceptable adverse effects on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife or recreational areas.”

In this case, the EPA said it was concerned that the mine would affect salmon fisheries and and local Native American tribes whose culture is based around them.

However, the switch in administrations made backers of the mine more comfortable going forward with plans.

In May, the EPA reached a settlement with Northern Dynasty that allowed the company to restart the permitting process.

“We are committed to due process and the rule of law, and regulations that are ‘regular,’” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement at the time, according to Fox News.

“We understand how much the community cares about this issue, with passionate advocates on all sides. The agreement will not guarantee or prejudge a particular outcome, but will provide Pebble a fair process for their permit application and help steer EPA away from costly and time-consuming litigation.”

Earlier this month, according to the Anchorage Daily News, Northern Dynasty got a new investor in the plan in the form of First Quantum Minerals, which became a partner by investing $1.5 billion in the project.

After the application, according to the stock market news site Seeking Alpha, Northern Dynasty stock went up 6 percent, another sign that investors expect the plan to go through.

However, many environmentalists and those in Alaska’s salmon industry are still vehemently opposing the plan.

“My family has been here for generations and we rely on the salmon to feed our families and to have a livelihood,” said Kimberly Williams, executive director of Nunamta Aulukestai, a Bristol Bay nonprofit associated with 10 corporations that operate in Bristol Bay.

“Salmon fishing is not just part of my culture and history, but it provides jobs for everyone in the community and helps send people to college. The mine puts all that at risk.”

Company officials insist that environmental damage will be minimal, however.

“The project design we’re taking into permitting includes a substantially reduced development footprint and meaningful new environmental safeguards that respond directly to the priorities and concerns we’ve heard from stakeholders in Alaska,” a statement from Pebble Partnership CEO Tom Collier read.

“Not only are we confident that Pebble as currently envisaged will secure development permits from federal, state and local regulatory agencies, we are confident it will co-exist with the world class fisheries of Bristol Bay and earn the support of the people of the region and the state.”