The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 8 rejected Alaska’s bid to revive the Pebble Mine that was blocked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Associated Press reported that the justices did not comment in turning away the Alaska’s attempt to sue the Biden administration directly in the high court over its desire to revive the proposed Pebble Mine in the state’s Bristol Bay region.

A year ago, the EPA stopped the mine proposal, citing concerns with potential impacts on a rich aquatic ecosystem that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration appealed to the Supreme Court to hear the case in July. States can sue each other and the federal government in the Supreme Court, though the justices typically deal with appeals and hear only a few original cases each year.
Alaska still can try to reverse the decision through the more typical process, starting in a lower court and appealing any unfavorable decisions to the Supreme Court.

Alaska argued that the EPA had “effectively confiscated” state land, damaging Alaska’s sovereignty and regulatory powers.

The Pebble project is on state land about 321 km (200 miles) southwest of Anchorage, near headwaters of Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.

The Pebble deposit contains minerals worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Pebble Limited says development there will support the Alaska economy and generate up to 2,000 jobs.

The Anchorage Daily News reported that the Dunleavy administration filed a 17-page brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the court should hear the case. The state argued that the EPA has violated the Alaska Statehood Act and the 1976 Cook Inlet Land Exchange Act in which the federal government conveyed the Pebble land to Alaska, while the state provided lands for the creation of Lake Clark National Park in the region.

“The federal government has stripped the State of its ability to manage its land, water, and natural resources — all ‘matter(s) of great state concern,’” according to the brief. “The federal government has deprived the state of billions of dollars — tax revenue that Congress long ago determined was critical to funding the Alaska state and local governments. And the federal government has prevented the creation of thousands of new, high-paying jobs for Alaskans. These sovereign interests plainly warrant this court’s original jurisdiction.”

A collection of groups that including the National Mining Association, the Alaska Miners Association and the Alaska Chamber joined the side of the Dunleavy administration in its petition for a Supreme Court review, filing a single friends-of-the-court brief.