JUNEAU — Attorneys want a federal judge to halt temporarily proceedings in a long-running legal dispute between the group behind the proposed Pebble Mine project and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The motion, made by attorneys for the EPA and Pebble Limited Partnership on Friday, asks that proceedings in the case be halted until March 20, at which time the parties would jointly propose how they wish to move forward.
The motion states the two sides have been talking since August about ways to resolve the case.
Pebble has alleged that EPA worked with mine critics with a predetermined goal to block the project. Attorneys for the EPA have called the lawsuit a bid to undermine the agency’s proposal to protect parts of the Bristol Bay region from development.
