Environmental groups and an Alaska resident are suing the federal government for approving a mining project that they say spells doom for the critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale.
The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska to rescind a Clean Water Act permit that the Army Corps of Engineers approved under the Biden administration for the Johnson Tract gold mining exploration project at the headwaters of the Johnson River. The project is located on private land surrounded by Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
The groups charge that the Army Corps failed to assess the risk of acid mine drainage or consider what effects the project would have on the beluga whale.
According to the suit, the Army Corps last year approved a Section 404 Clean Water Act permit for Contango Ore to move forward with the project, which includes expanding an existing airstrip and building an access road across the Johnson River and Double Glacier Creek.
