Judge subpoenas elusive ex-EPA scientist

A federal judge considering a permit dispute involving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a subpoena for a retired scientist who is likely in Australia.

Pebble LP, which wants to build a massive copper and gold mine in Alaska, has accused Phillip North of improperly colluding with environmental groups to block the mine’s permit.

{mosads}Republican lawmakers and Pebble have been trying since 2013 to track down North for investigations and the court case, but he retired and left the country.

Federal Judge H. Russel Holland ruled late on Thursday that North’s testimony is essential to Pebble’s case, in which it is challenging the EPA’s attempt to block its permit before it has filed a formal application.

“The court entertains no doubt that Mr. North was a major player in the lead-up to a proposed § 404(c) proceeding before the EPA,” Holland wrote, referring to the kind of permit Pebble would need under the Clean Water Act for a mine that could potentially harm the Bristol Bay watershed in Southwest Alaska.

“Indeed, Mr. North appears to be at the center of Pebble’s claims that the EPA impermissibly formed advisory committees, which claims are the basis for Pebble’s complaint in this case,” he said.

Last year, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) threatened to subpoena the EPA to get records related to North after staff of the House Oversight Committee could neither locate him for a deposition nor obtain various documents he produced.

EPA head Gina McCarthy told the committee that North’s hard drive likely crashed and the agency could not find his emails.

Under Holland’s order, North must travel to Anchorage, Alaska, in November for a deposition for the lawsuit.

Pebble specifically alleges that in writing the scientific assessment that the EPA has used to try to block the mine, the agency convened several advisory committees of external representatives, but did not follow federal laws regarding transparency and accountability of those committees.

The EPA has responded that North played an insignificant role in the Pebble decisions and that the EPA’s consultations with environmental groups and others were legal.