Alaska lawsuit claims federal government owes state $700 billion for quashing Pebble mine

The federal government owes Alaska more than $700 billion in compensation for the 2023 Environmental Protection Agency action that blocked development of the massive and controversial Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration claims in a lawsuit filed in a federal court.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in the District of Columbia, is part of a flurry of legal actions by the state and the mine’s would-be developer that seek to revive the massive copper and gold project.

The state and company legal actions follow an unsuccessful attempt by the Dunleavy administration to have the matter decided directly by the U.S. Supreme Court. In an unusual legal maneuver, the Dunleavy administration last July petitioned the Supreme Court to rule on the matter without having lower courts weigh in. The Supreme Court in January declined to take on the case.

In its complaint filed Thursday with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the state cited an estimate for 100 years of production to support the $700 billion figure. And it said Alaska had been depending on Pebble development for its economic future.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/03/16/state-lawsuit-claims-federal-government-owes-alaska-700-billion-for-quashing-pebble-mine/