(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said there would be “no politics” in the review process of Alaska’s Pebble Mine project which has previously been opposed by prominent Republicans and environmentalists who say it would damage wetlands and popular fishing sites.
“Don’t worry, wonderful & beautiful Alaska, there will be NO POLITICS in the Pebble Mine Review Process. I will do what is right for Alaska and our great Country!!!,” Trump said in a tweet late on Wednesday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that regulates the development and dredging of wetlands, had last month placed an additional hurdle in front of the project to mine copper and gold, giving developers 90 days to explain how they would offset concerns about the environment.
Pebble Limited Partnership, the project’s owner, at that time said it would satisfy the request for additional mitigation and that it would submit a plan “within weeks.”
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not respond to a request for comment on the tweet from Trump.
The Trump administration in July proposed approving a permit for the mine near a salmon fishery, boosting the project the administration of former President Barack Obama tried to block on environmental grounds.
But a prominent group of Republicans, including Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr., have publicly voiced opposition, saying the mine would destroy areas where they enjoy fishing and hunting.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
