At an April 27 hearing, GOP lawmakers blasted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for limiting the scope of the Pebble Mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, before the project’s developer had formally submitted plans and applied for a permit.
But an EPA official testified that the agency had no preconceived notions about the project. The Clean Water Act gives EPA authority to limit or veto permits for dredge and fill activities that would cause lasting harm to fisheries or watersheds. In 2014, EPA initiated a CWA 404(c) action at the request of several tribes and environmental and community groups concerned about the mine’s potentially devastating impact on the Bristol Bay watershed.