Save the Alaskan Wilderness: Urge the Army Corps to Reject the Permit for Pebble Mine

We're closer than ever to stopping the Pebble Mine, the catastrophic gold and copper mega-mine that could destroy Alaska's Bristol Bay wilderness for decades to come.

As we reported a few weeks back, Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals just walked away from its planned investment in the Pebble Mine, thanks to opposition from Bristol Bay leaders and hundreds of thousands of activists like you.

Northern Dynasty Minerals — the company behind the mega-mine — is now running low on cash and unable to prove the economic viability of its mine plan, yet it is barreling ahead with the permitting process. So, now we must mobilize as much public pressure as possible on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to suspend — and ultimately reject — the project's permit, closing the door on this reckless scheme once and for all.

The Army Corps of Engineers is accepting public comments until June 29, so it's critical that they hear from you immediately.

Tell the Army Corps that you oppose the Pebble Mine — and urge them to suspend and reject the permit for this disastrous mega-mine.

The Pebble Mine could produce billions of tons of mining waste and completely devastate Alaska's Bristol Bay wilderness, its world-renowned salmon runs and wildlife, and its Native communities.

Despite the risks to the world's greatest wild salmon fishery, Northern Dynasty submitted an incomplete permit application that lacks either the scientific or economic support for its plans.

Worse, the company is now scheming to make the mine even bigger — without submitting any supporting documents to the Army Corps.

Tell the Army Corps to immediately suspend the mine's permitting process.
The agency is currently rushing to complete the permitting process in less time than any other large-scale development project in Alaska. And to make matters worse, they're not giving potentially impacted communities and businesses the opportunity to voice their concerns at public hearings as part of the process.

The Pebble Mine is the largest and most contentious mine ever proposed in Alaska.The Army Corps must take the time to properly assess the social, environmental, and economic impacts that this mega-mine could have on Alaskan communities and American businesses.

Tell the Army Corps to stop the Pebble Mine and save Alaska's Bristol Bay wilderness.

The Pebble Mine is opposed by 65 percent of Alaskans and 80 percent of people from Bristol Bay, including tribes, business leaders, commercial fishermen, and native village corporations.

And three of the largest mining companies in the world — Mitsubishi Corporation, Anglo American, and Rio Tinto — have already abandoned the project. Now First Quantum Minerals has joined that list.

So, it's time for the Army Corps to heed all of these voices — and reject the permit for the Pebble Mine.

Add your voice today: Submit your public comment to the Army Corps before June 29.

- Rhea Suh. President, NRDC

#SAVEBRISTOLBAY

URGENT: Big chance to stop Pebble Mine

With the Trump administration’s help, foreign mining companies are pushing ahead with plans for the Pebble Mine — the toxic, gold and copper mega-mine that poses catastrophic risks to Alaska's Bristol Bay wilderness and its world-renowned salmon runs, abundant wildlife, and Native communities.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt cut a backroom deal with Canadian company Northern Dynasty Minerals that brought the Pebble Mine back from the dead. But EPA’s settlement agreement with Northern Dynasty did more than just resurrect the project: it opened the door for Northern Dynasty to secure the investors it desperately needs to move the project forward.

Along comes First Quantum Minerals, another Canadian company, which recently announced interest in potentially acquiring half of the project and will pay $150 million to help fund the permitting process in the meantime.

If we want to kill the disastrous Pebble Mine, we must shut off the investor money. So, we must do everything in our power to convince First Quantum to walk away from the Pebble Project.

Tell First Quantum’s CEO that the Pebble Mine has no place in Alaska’s Bristol Bay wilderness!

Don’t Let Trump and Pruitt Turn Alaskan Wilderness into Wasteland

The Trump administration is paving the way for the disastrous Pebble Mine — the toxic, gold and copper mega-mine that poses catastrophic risks to Alaska's spectacular Bristol Bay and its world-renowned salmon runs, abundant wildlife populations, and Native communities.

President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency proposed common-sense restrictions that would have banned this dangerous mine because of the obvious environmental risks it would pose, like generating a staggering 10 billion tons of contaminated mining waste that would have to be stored forever—in a seismically active area.

But President Trump’s EPA recently reached a backroom deal with Northern Dynasty Minerals — the Canadian company behind the mine — to reverse those restrictions. The EPA’s decision is a handout to the mining industry at the expense of one of America’s last wild places and its people. We can’t let it stand. 

Tell President Trump and the EPA you’re outraged that they would put the profits of foreign mining companies ahead of the American people — and that you’ll fight them every step of the way until they slam the door on the Pebble Mine and protect Bristol Bay, its wildlife, its economy, and its communities from destruction.

SEND A MESSAGE HERE.

Your message will be sent to:

Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator
Michelle Pirzadeh, Acting Region 10 Administrator
President Donald J. Trump

Subject line:  Stop the Pebble Mine

(Consider adding your own thoughts — personalized messages are especially effective)

Dear President Trump, Administrator Pruitt, and Acting Region 10 Administrator Pirzadeh:

I am outraged that you plan to reverse course and green-light the proposed Pebble Mine, despite the catastrophic risks it poses to Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, its world-renowned salmon runs, and its Native communities. 

President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency proposed common-sense restrictions that would have banned this dangerous mine because of the obvious environmental risks it would pose. The EPA’s recent settlement with Northern Dynasty Minerals to reverse those common-sense restrictions is a blatant giveaway to the mining industry at the expense of the American people, our environment, and our economy.

Bristol Bay's wild salmon fishery supports 14,000 jobs and is valued at more than $1.5 billion annually. It also supplies nearly half of the world’s sockeye salmon. More than 65 percent of Alaskans, 80 percent of Bristol Bay residents and Native communities, and 85 percent of commercial fishermen oppose the mine.

I urge you to listen to those voices, and for the sake of the Bristol Bay watershed, its world-class salmon fishery, and its people, keep the door closed on Pebble Mine. If you don’t, you will have to answer to me and hundreds of thousands of people in Alaska and across the United States and the world who stand in fervent opposition to this toxic mega-mine. 

- NRDC