Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is recommending setting restrictions for the debris produced at a copper ore mine in Alaska.
• The EPA is looking at the restrictions as a protective measure to prevent mining waste materials from the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, AK from entering nearby waterways, including streams, wetlands, lakes and ponds. The organization says the debris could potentially shift the stream flow. 
• Large-scale mining restrictions would protect a watershed that serves one of the most productive salmon fisheries in the world. 

Dive Insight:

Mining the deposit would create enough debris to fill a stadium 3,900 times and leave a pit almost as deep as the Grand Canyon.