Mine company worked closely with Alaska governor to push for restriction rollback: report

A mining company worked closely with Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) to push the Trump administration for a reversal of an Obama-era restriction on a mine, CNN reported Friday.

The network, citing documents it obtained, reported that Pebble Limited Partnership ghostwrote letters for Dunleavy and gave his office strategies on how to lobby for action sought by the firm.

The network’s report pointed to one letter sent by Dunleavy to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that was nearly identical to a draft sent to his office by a company official. 

The Obama administration had blocked the development of a gold and copper mine over concerns about wild sockeye salmon that are native to the area. In July, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would reverse the blockage following a June meeting with Dunleavy and President Trump, according to CNN. 

The Hill has reached out to Dunleavy for comment.

A Pebble official defended the move in a statement to CNN.

“It is not unusual for interested parties to suggest language to elected officials that may be helpful in contesting poor public policy. What an administration chooses to do with the suggestion is entirely up to them,” the company official told the network.

The governor also told CNN that “it is common practice for an administration to request briefing materials on a specific project.”

“We work with groups, all industries to have conversations,” Dunleavy told local NBC affiliate KTUU. “But in terms of putting things out verbatim that’s not a rule of this administration and I’m not sure that’s a rule of any administration.”