EPA Case is Dismissed

Late last year, BBRSDA joined several other organizations to file a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for withdrawing proposed protections for Bristol Bay. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the case, and in so doing determined that the EPA’s action is not one that can be challenged in court (click here to see the motion). This does not change the facts already established in the scientific and public record, which make clear that the Bristol Bay fishery is threatened by the development of the Pebble Mine.

Leadership from the plaintiffs echoed the sentiment that they will not relent in their pursuit of safeguards for Bristol Bay’s pristine environment or in their opposition of the Pebble Mine project. BBRSDA Executive Director Andy Wink on Judge Gleason’s ruling, “Despite this decision, our mission is unchanged: protecting and promoting the Bristol Bay fishery. The Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment made it clear that this fishery needs the highest level of protection, and we will do everything we can to ensure the salmon continue returning for future generations.”

BBRSDA and other members of the Bristol Bay Defense Alliance have issued the following statement regarding this legal matter.