September 10, 2021

DeFazio, Huffman Applaud the EPA for Taking New Action to Protect Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine Project

Washington, D.C. – Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Jared Huffman (D-CA), Chair of the Natural Resources Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee released the following statements in response to yesterday’s EPA action on Bristol Bay.

“The Pebble Mine proposal was always a bad idea, and I am relieved the Biden EPA is finally taking steps to protect the indigenous and fishing communities that rely on the world’s largest salmon habitat.” Chair DeFazio said. “By restarting the Clean Water Act review, the EPA has the opportunity to save the Bristol Bay region from certain catastrophe and reverse the dangerous course set by the Trump administration, which ignored both science and common sense. I have no doubt that this review will reaffirm what we already know: Bristol Bay is no place for an open pit mine.”

“I’m pleased to see the EPA take responsibility to restart a science-based protection process that was tossed out under the Trump administration. There is no time to waste: the EPA must restart their Clean Water Act review to protect Bristol Bay now, before the whims of another nefarious administration derail the process again,” Representative Huffman said. “The area’s world-famous sockeye salmon and the communities that depend upon a healthy environment should not have to face continual threats from unrelenting environmental atrocities like the Pebble Mine. This announcement is a great first step – and now the EPA must follow through as soon as possible.”

Background

In October 2019, the Committee held a hearing titled “The Pebble Mine Project: Process and Potential Impacts,” to examine the proposed project and hear from mining experts, regional stakeholders, and The Pebble Partnership itself. To learn more, click here.

In September 2020, Huffman and DeFazio led a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging him to use his authority to veto the flawed Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Pebble Mine on the grounds that the project would have significant negative impacts on Bristol Bay. To learn more, click here.

In March 2021, Huffman and DeFazio sent a letter to the EPA urging the agency to protect Bristol Bay, Alaska, from the disastrous proposed Pebble Mine project. To learn more, click here.

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