A lawsuit was filed in Dillingham's Superior Court last week against Glen Alsworth, Lake and Peninsula Borough Mayor, and borough assemblywoman Sue Anelon accusing them of failing to disclose their relationship with Pebble Partnership while voting on issues concerning that mining entity.

The suit was brought against them by a borough assemblyman and four anti-Pebble activists. That suit alleges that Mayor Alsworth has received $375,000 from the Pebble Partnership, while Assemblywoman Anelon has received over $400,000 from the company.

Alsworth owns Lake Clark Air. Alsworth often flies employees of the mining venture to and from Anchorage and around to the surrounding areas. Anelon, while not working directly for Pebble Partnership, does work for the Illiamna Development Corporation. IDC services exploration work for the mining giant.

Aside from a 2006 letter sent out supporting the Pebble Project and a 2007 issue with water rights, Alsworth said that he hasn’t voted on any large issues over Pebble. He says if he did, he would declare a conflict of interest.

Some of the largest deposits of gold and copper lie underneath the headwaters of Bristol Bay, the venue of the largest Sockeye Salmon fishery in the world. The proposed mine by Pebble Partnership to exploit those resourses has been controversial since its inception. Various groups nationwide have come out in opposition.

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency released a report on the impacts of major mining development in the region that points out several of the anticipated negative impacts that mining operations would have on the headwaters and surrounding areas of this fish rich region. The report pointed out that even at a minimum the region would lose spawning ground and habitat for the salmon.This puts the EPA at direct opposition to the Republican administration of Alaska who says that the EPA has no authority to release an assessment on the proposed project.