Huffman, Defazio Urge Biden EPA to Protect Bristol Bay From Pebble Mine

Press Release

Today, Representatives Jared Huffman (CA-02), Chair of the Natural Resources Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee and member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan urging him to use his authorities granted by the Clean Water Act to protect Bristol Bay, Alaska, from the disastrous proposed Pebble Mine project.

"[W]e urge you to focus the EPA's resources on Bristol Bay and reinstate science-based protections for this globally significant watershed and the thousands of people who depend on it. Any Pebble Mine mining operations-- regardless of size -- open the door to decimation of the livelihoods, cultures, and economy of Native Tribes and Bristol Bay communities -- a risk that is far too great to jeopardize one of the last pristine habitats in the United States. The EPA should exercise its authority under the Clean Water Act to put common sense protections in place immediately," the Members wrote in the letter.

Rep. Huffman has been a vocal opponent of the project, including leading amendments in both the FY2020 and FY2021 appropriations bills barring the federal government from moving forward with the flawed permit. Both amendments passed the U.S. House of Representatives in the 116th Congress. In September 2020, Representatives Huffman and DeFazio led a letter to then-EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging him to use his authority to veto the flawed Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Pebble Mine on the grounds that the project would have significant negative impacts on Bristol Bay. Representative Huffman also led 53 of his colleagues in June of 2020 in a letter to the United States Army Corps of Engineers urging them to deny the project's flawed permit.

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