Bering Strait Citizens for Responsible Resource Development v. United States Army Corps of Engineers

This appeal concerns a permit issued to Defendant-Appellee Alaska Gold Company (“AGC”), by Defendant-Appellee Army Corps of Engineers (“the Corps”) for a major gold-mining project near Nome, Alaska. The permit was issued pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1344 , which authorizes the Corps to issue permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters of the United States.

The project, known as the “Rock Creek Mine Project,” would consist of two open-pit gold mines at separate locations outside of Nome, plus facilities built for recovering and processing gold ore. Once the project is commenced, about 15,592,411 cubic yards of fill from the mine will be placed in wetlands totaling 346.5 acres.

Plaintiffs-Appellants Bering Strait Citizens for Responsible Resource Development, Susan Steinacher, and Jana Varrati (collectively, “BSC”), allege that the Corps violated the CWA and the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) by granting a permit for the Rock Creek Mine Project. BSC appeals the district court’s denial of its motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, and the district court’s dismissal…