March 9, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Justice is defending a Biden-era veto of the Pebble copper and gold project, saying the Environmental Protection Agency properly exercised its authority to prevent adverse impacts to a “globally significant” fishery in Bristol Bay.
The Feb. 17 court filing by the Department of Justice continues the Trump administration’s opposition to the proposed mine, a departure from the president’s aggressive pro-development agenda that includes support of U.S. mineral production in Alaska.
The Pebble project sits on state land about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, near the headwaters of Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.
Mine developer Pebble Limited Partnership brought the case in 2024, suing EPA over its decision to block the mine under a little-used provision in the Clean Water Act. The agency had said the mine would cause “unacceptable, adverse” harm to the valuable Bristol Bay salmon fishery.
The Justice Department said in its filing that the Pebble mineral deposit exists under streams, wetlands and other waters that are critical for supporting salmon in the watershed, “a largely undisturbed, globally significant economic, ecological, and cultural resource.”
“(Pebble Limited Partnership’s) mine plan calls for the disposal of large quantities of fill into waters of the United States that would destroy or comparably damage large areas of salmon habitat that are fishery areas,” the filing said.
Ron Thiessen, president of Pebble’s parent company, Northern Dynasty Minerals, said in a statement that the filing is “surprisingly short-sighted” and legally flawed.