Meanwhile, Pebble is an ongoing contributor to Dunleavy campaign
Backers of the proposed Pebble Mine in the Bristol Bay region “tried to trick regulators by pretending to pursue a smaller project with the intention of expanding” after the project was approved, according to the Associated Press.
The AP obtained the report by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that was released on Friday.
It says that in 2019 a now-former CEO with the Pebble partnership, Tom Collier, told a subcommittee there were “no current plans” for expansion of the proposed mine, the Pebble partnership was seeking to develop an expanded project “and touting that larger vision in pitches to potential investors.”
The same week that Collier testified before the subcommittee, he and other project leaders “pitched a much longer-term Pebble Mine to investors,” the report said. The report cited a similar presentation by Pebble leaders dated months earlier and said the slide deck presentation was also being shown to investors in early 2020.
The mine is owned by Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Collier resigned as CEO in September 2020.
In response, the United Tribes of Bristol Bay said “the report makes clear that Pebble executive’s testimony to Congress and other public communications were made in bad faith and were knowingly engaging in ‘sham permitting.'” UTBB represents 15 Bristol Bay Tribal governments that include 80% of the region’s total population.
“We are not surprised that Pebble has yet again tried to deceive lawmakers and the public about their true plans,” said UTBB executive director Alannah Hurley.
Meanwhile, the EPA is weighing whether to proceed with proposed restrictions that would block plans for the gold and copper mine.
“From their sham of a mine plan to the Pebble tapes, the company has proven time and again they’re not to be trusted … Since this company started trying to build a mine at the headwaters of our fishery two decades ago, they have done nothing but prove they will say and do anything to try and advance their toxic project, regardless of truth and fact.”
-UTBB Executive Director Alannah Hurley
Meanwhile, the campaign coffers of Governor Mike Dunleavy continue to swell with support from Pebble backers. Below is the latest disclosure form from the Alaska Public Offices Commission —
