and looking from the sidelines feels good at this point. hard to say where this will all end.

Massive Pebble gold/copper project on the ropes?

280 voters in Alaska's Lake & Peninsula Borough have enacted a measure that, if upheld by the courts, could ultimately stop the development of Alaska's controversial Pebble Project, but it may not be all over yet.

Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Wednesday , 19 Oct 2011

RENO, NV -

In 1974 famed boxer Muhammad Ali used the "rope a dope" strategy in his fight against George Foreman. It involved lying back on the ropes, shelling up and allowing your opponent to throw punches until they tire themselves out and then you exploit their defensive flaws and nail them.

The voters of Alaska's Lake and Peninsula Borough landed a serious blow this week to mighty mega-miner Anglo American and junior explorer Northern Dynasty and their massive Pebble Project.

Nevertheless, the Pebble Partnership could be utilizing its own version of "rope-a-dope" by exploiting the anti-Pebble Group's defensive flaws to nail them in the Alaska courts.

By a vote of 280 to 246, voters in the borough supported a ballot measure that, if upheld by the courts, would restrict future development that impacts more than one square mile of land within the 31,000 square-mile borough. The initiative changes borough law to prohibit the granting of permits for any big mine that would have a "significant adverse impact" on salmon streams.

However, the Pebble Limited Partnership and the State of Alaska may ultimately score a knockout in the Alaska court system as they challenge the ordinance in Alaska's Superior Court. On Nov. 7, 2011, the court will begin proceedings to consider the constitutionality of the ordinance.

The court has already upheld the validity of temporary, revocable land and water use permits for mineral exploration at the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum project in the Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska. Anchorage Superior Court Judge John Suddock allowed the borough ballot initiative to continue but said he would sort out legal issues when the case resumes on Nov. 7.

Anti-Pebble Project groups insisted the passage of the borough initiative "effectively halts the development of the proposed Pebble Mine which was expected to be the largest gold and fifth largest copper mine in the world and sits at the headwaters of Alaska's Bristol Bay."

"The Lake and Peninsula Borough residents have spoken loud and clear, they do not want the Pebble Mine developed in their community," said Art Hackney, spokesman for Alaskans for Bristol Bay. "In order to suppress the support Save Our Salmon [the initiative's name] has received, Anglo American and Northern Dynasty must directly contradict their earlier claims that they will only develop were they were wanted. They are not wanted in Bristol Bay."

Nevertheless, Ron Thiessen, Northern Dynasty Minerals CEO, declared, "Given the ballot measure's misleading language, in particular its seeming focus on protecting salmon, it's not surprising that it was support by a slim majority of Lake & Peninsula Borough voters."

"Certainly Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Partnership are wholly committed to preserving and even enhancing the fisheries resources of Southwest Alaska," Thiessen said. "Unfortunately, this initiative would also halt economic development throughout the Alaska & Peninsula Borough, and represents yet another misuse of Alaska's democratic processes by paid opponents of the Pebble Project, whose goal is to stop the project before it receives comprehensive and objective review by federal and state regulators."

"What is most important is the rule of law in Alaska and the United States is clear and reliable, such that this unconstitutional attempt by narrow self-interests to restrict economic development in a region the size of South Carolina will not stand," he added. "We believe the State of Alaska's constitutional obligation to manage natural resources on its land for the benefit of all Alaskans will be ultimately acknowledged by the courts."

However, in an editorial Tuesday the Anchorage Daily News suggested that the borough vote won't be the last word in the Pebble Project. "The Pebble Partnership has a high bar to clear, and in the end the EPA's decision may well carry more weight than the borough vote. Either way, Alaska needs to get this one right."

The EPA is expected to make a preliminary report on its Bristol Bay watershed assessment before the end of the year. The agency is trying to determine whether a major hardrock mining operation and co-exist with some of the headwaters of the largest remaining wild salmon fishery on earth.

EPA announced in February of this year that it would conduct an assessment focused primarily on the Nushagak and Kvichak watersheds. EPA Regional Administrator Dennis McLerran said, "The Bristol Bay watershed is essential to the health, environment and economy of Alaska. Gathering data and getting public input now, before development occurs, just makes sense."

In a statement, Thiessen said, "The Pebble Project has the potential to create substantial economic and social benefits for the people of Southwest Alaska for decades to come, in a way that enhances commercial and subsistence fisheries and ensures the long-term sustainability of Alaska Native culture. Pebble simply has too much potential for the region and the state to allow special interests to forestall its development before an optimized mine plan is proposed for the consideration of federal and state regulators and the people of Alaska."