Trout Unlimited On What To Expect For Pebble Mine Fight In 2021

As the 2020 sucked crowd finally can look forward to – we hope – better days ahead in 2021, the end of the most recent year proved to offer plenty of good news for the Pebble Mine opposition.

Trout Unlimited made some Pebble Mine bullet points on what to look for in 2021. Here’s a sampling:

Pebble will appeal the permit decision. The company behind Pebble Mine has pledged to appeal the permit decision, and it’s likely we will see litigation from the Pebble Limited Partnership. The rationale for the permit decision is legally robust and scientifically backed, and therefore is unlikely to be overturned. Still, the decision will require defending.  

A decision will be granted in Trout Unlimited’s lawsuit against the EPA. Alongside tribes and other local organizations, Trout Unlimited sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over their decision to withdraw protections for Bristol Bay that were established in the 2014 Bristol Bay Proposed Determination. If enacted, these protections would have limited how much Pebble could impact the world-class salmon and water resources of the region. …

We must secure permanent protections for Bristol Bay through Congress. In 2021, we will work toward Congressionally-enacted protections for the people and industries who rely on the Bristol Bay fishery. In the fall of 2020, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski verbally shared her commitment to these long-term protections for Bristol Bay.

The entire piece is worth reading. And while 2020 brought some promising headlines for those who don’t want the mine, it’s clear there is plenty of work left to be done, though the recent developments certainly have taken a toll on the project’s parent company.