The legal showdown between the Environmental Protection Agency and the group behind the giant Pebble mining prospect near Bristol Bay is coming to a head, with the first oral arguments in one case set for Friday morning in Anchorage and the recent filing of a second lawsuit that claims the agency illegally colluded with mine foes.

Both cases, under the purview of Alaska federal District Court Judge H. Russel Holland, were filed by Pebble Partnership, owned by Northern Dynasty Minerals.

The fight centers on Pebble's argument that the EPA has taken unprecedented steps to illegally and preemptively stop the proposed copper and gold mine under a section of the Clean Water Act related to dredging and filling activities.

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