WASHINGTON – The US Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it is leaving in place restrictions on the proposed Pebble copper/gold mine project, in southwest Alaska's Bristol Bay region.
"It is my judgment at this time that any mining projects in the region likely pose a risk to the abundant natural resources that exist there," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement.
"Until we know the full extent of that risk, those natural resources and world-class fisheries deserve the utmost protection," he said.