Federal judge faults environmental analysis for planned huge gold mine in Western Alaska

Regulators violated laws when they failed to consider impacts of a catastrophic dam failure before issuing a key permit for the controversial Donlin mine, the judge rules

Opponents of the planned Donlin Gold mine in Western Alaska won a key victory on Monday when a federal judge ruled that regulators who granted a permit needed to build the project failed to properly consider the risks of a catastrophic release of mine waste.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason agreed with tribal government plaintiffs that argued the environmental study that led to federal permitting for the Donlin mine illegally omitted analysis of the impacts of a major tailings dam failure.

“I think it’s a major victory for the tribes and for the region,” said Hannah Foster, an attorney...

 

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