By SUZANNE DOWNING
Feb. 21, 2026 – The Department of Justice filed a court brief this week supporting the US Environmental Protection Agency veto of the proposed Pebble Mine. It is a blow to the long-running effort to develop what is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold-molybdenum deposits.
The filing, submitted as part of an ongoing summary judgment process in federal court, defends the EPA’s 2023 decision, under President Joe Biden, to block the project under the Clean Water Act. At that time, the agency prohibited the disposal of mine waste in parts of the Bristol Bay watershed, which it defines broadly, concluding the project would result in the loss of more than 2,000 acres of wetlands and pose unacceptable risks to the region’s globally important salmon fishery. Two thousand acres of wetlands is .00114942529% of all the wetlands in Alaska.
A statement released by Northern Dynasty President and CEO Ron Thiessen called it “surprising” that the Trump Administration’s Department of Justice would defend the EPA’s preemptive veto despite executive orders and public statements supporting Alaska resource development and domestic critical minerals production.
“This precedent will be used by future Democratic administrations to reverse all of the progress this administration has made with its pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-development agenda,” Thiessen said.
John Shively, chairman of the board, criticized what he called the “egregious Biden EPA veto,” arguing that the agency ignored the project’s Environmental Impact Statement, which he said concluded the mine could be built and operated without harming the fishery.
“America needs the minerals at Pebble. Alaska needs the economic activity it would generate. And local communities want the jobs it can provide,” Shively said. “In the meantime, China has not slowed down its efforts to become the OPEC of copper.”
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For more than 20 years, the Vancouver-based mining company has sought to develop the Pebble deposit in southwest Alaska. The proposed site lies within the Bristol Bay watershed, home to some of the world’s largest sockeye salmon runs and a commercial fishing industry that supports thousands of jobs.
If constructed, the Pebble mine would be the largest copper, gold and molybdenum extraction project in North America. A 2023 economic study projected that over a 20-year mine life, the project could produce:
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6.4 billion pounds of copper
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7.4 million ounces of gold
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300 million pounds of molybdenum
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37 million ounces of silver
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200,000 kilograms of rhenium
Opponents, including Alaska Native organizations and environmental groups, argue that the project poses unacceptable risks.
In 2024, Northern Dynasty filed suit in Alaska’s federal district court seeking to overturn the EPA’s veto. Negotiations toward a potential settlement failed, the parties agreed to resolve the dispute through summary judgment — a legal process allowing the court to rule based on written briefs and the administrative record, without a full trial.
The DOJ brief represents the latest step in that process. Final reply briefs from Northern Dynasty, the State of Alaska, and two local groups, are expected next.
A ruling from the federal court could determine whether the veto stands or whether the project is revived for further review.
Shares of Northern Dynasty Minerals fell by as much as 45% to a five-month low of C$1.52 following news of the filing. The stock recovered slightly, trading around $1.31, at the end of the week.
The case now places the future of the Pebble project squarely in the hands of the federal court, and potentially sets a precedent for how far the EPA can go in preemptively blocking large-scale resource development projects under the Clean Water Act.
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