A civil trial that began Monday calls into question the legality of much of the work done over the past two decades to study the massive Pebble copper and gold prospect in Southwest Alaska.
The state Superior Court case pits state regulators against a coalition of nine village Native corporations opposed to the proposed mine in the Bristol Bay region, plus several others, including Vic Fischer, a state constitutional delegate, and Bella Hammond, the widow of former Gov. Jay Hammond.
The case, filed last year, is one of a number of legal challenges to Pebble that have erupted in the past few years as the project gets closer to reality. If the state loses in court, some work on Pebble could be delayed, perhaps for several years, the companies contend.
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