EPA ecologist illegally worked to block Alaskan mine project, then fled: Oversight panel

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An Environmental Protection Agency ecologist helped native Alaskan tribes craft a petition to block a mine and then fled the country rather than testify about his role, according to a House Oversight Committee report.

The report comes after a prolonged fight over the Pebble Mine project site in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. The mine has been the subject of scrutiny in Congress in recent months, including a House Science, Space and Technology Committee meeting Thursday morning.

Work on the project stalled before it could even begin. In May 2010, six Alaskan tribes submitted a request to the EPA for it to issue a rare pre-emptive veto to block Pebble Limited Partnership, the group looking to build the mine, from continuing.

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