Trump administration denies permit for divisive Alaska mine

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Trump administration on Wednesday denied a permit to build a controversial gold and copper mine near the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery in southwest Alaska.

The Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement Wednesday that the permit application for the Pebble Mine was denied under both the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act. The statement says the corps “concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest.”

The Pebble Partnership said it was dismayed, especially after the corps had indicated in an environmental impact statement in July that the mine and fishery could coexist.