"Pebble Mine"

The legislature recently got an update on nearly 30 ongoing cases or conflicts the state has with the federal government, Alaska’s largest landowner.

The United Tribes of Bristol Bay was invited to testify Monday before the Alaska House Resources Committee in Juneau. At issue was United Tribes’ allegation that Pebble has left a mess from exploration work at their mining claims northwest of Iliamna.

In a letter Wednesday to new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the chairman of the House Science Committee asked that the agency rescind its 2014 veto of the Pebble Mine.

Pebble’s parent company will pay its CEO $12.5 million if he can get an Army Corps of Engineers permit within four years of applying. The bonus would drop to $7.5 million if it takes six years.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general has concluded that the agency did not treat the Pebble project unfairly when it issued a controversial document detrimental to the mine.

A bill introduced by a South Carolina Republican seeks to remove a section of the Clean Water Act that is being used by the EPA to block development of the Pebble Mine.