A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of the Pebble mine project and put a temporary halt on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to protect Bristol Bay.

The ruling is a “procedural victory,” but it doesn’t settle Pebble’s claims that EPA overstepped the law, Tom Collier, Pebble Ltd. Partnership CEO, said Monday afternoon in a written statement. It will take months more to resolve the lawsuit at issue, Pebble said.

Activists fighting the mine noted that U.S. District Judge Russel Holland rejected two of Pebble’s three arguments to halt EPA over a theory that it colluded with anti-mine activists and scientists. Rather, the judge determined that Pebble had a chance of winning on one claim, that EPA improperly turned to an anti-mine team as it worked on its study of how a big mine would affect the Bristol Bay watershed.

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