The House voted late on Wednesday to advance a 211-mile industrial road that would cut through pristine Alaskan wilderness to reach a proposed copper and zinc mine, handing a victory to the company behind the contentious mining venture.
The 215-210 vote was the latest twist in a long-running battle over the road, known as the Ambler Access Project, that has reverberated across Alaska and the nation’s capital. The first Trump administration issued a federal permit for the project in 2020, but the Biden administration suspended it last year, saying the road would threaten wildlife as well as Alaska Native tribes that rely on hunting and fishing.
Supporters of the road, including many Alaska politicians, have said it is essential to reach a copper deposit worth an estimated $7.5 billion. Copper is crucial to the production of cars, electronics and renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines.
Representative Nick Begich III, Republican of Alaska, introduced the resolution to advance the project under the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to reverse recently adopted federal regulations with a simple majority vote. The Senate is expected to pass the same resolution in the coming weeks. President Trump, who wants to significantly expand domestic mining, has indicated he will sign it into law.
In January, Mr. Trump instructed the Interior Department to begin reviewing, and potentially rescinding, the Biden administration’s decision to block the road. But that process could take months, while lawmakers could act more quickly.
As proposed, the Ambler Access Project would consist of a two-lane gravel road that would stretch 211 miles through the Brooks Range foothills in northern Alaska. About 26 of those miles would cut through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, requiring a federal permit. The road would also cross 11 rivers and thousands of streams before it reached the site of a future mine.
The resolution from Mr. Begich did not directly reference the Ambler Access Project. Instead, the measure would indirectly bolster the project by repealing a Biden-era plan for limiting industrial development on federal lands in central and northern Alaska, known formally as the Central Yukon Resource Management Plan.
“Alaska is a resource state, and our future will be determined by our ability to continue responsibly developing those resources,” Mr. Begich said in a statement. “The vast expanses of Alaska must not be subjugated by Washington D.C.’s unelected cubicle army.”
Opponents of the Ambler project, including many environmentalists and Alaska Natives, have said it could disrupt the migratory path of tens of thousands of caribou. They have also voiced concern that runoff from the mine could pollute key spawning grounds for salmon. Many Alaska Natives rely on caribou and salmon as key food sources.
“Caribou are kind of the biggest flashpoint because we’ve had a heck of a lot of population decline already, but we’ve also had a pretty scary lack of salmon over the last two summers,” said China Kantner, a member of Protect the Kobuk, an advocacy group of local residents opposed to the road.
A review by the Interior Department during the Biden administration also found that the road’s construction could speed the thawing of permafrost, ground that has been frozen in some cases for hundreds or thousands of years. When permafrost melts, ground can become unstable, triggering rockslides and floods. Melting permafrost can also release carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
Kaleb Froehlich, managing director of Ambler Metals, the company behind the planned mine, said in a statement that the firm “appreciates” the resolution from Mr. Begich. He rejected allegations that the project would harm the environment, saying the company has “a long tradition of responsible resource development.”
Representatives for the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the state-owned development bank that is seeking to build the road, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Senator Dan Sullivan, Republican of Alaska, introduced the same resolution to advance the project in July. Amanda Coyne, a spokeswoman for Mr. Sullivan, said the Senate was expected to consider the measure by mid-October.
The House also voted late Wednesday to pass another resolution that repealed a Biden-era plan for managing federal lands in Montana. The votes marked the first time that lawmakers have used the Congressional Review Act to reverse so-called resource management plans, which are typically developed with input from local residents and tribes.
“Using the Congressional Review Act on these plans is completely inappropriate and sets a dangerous precedent for all public lands in our nation,” said Frank Thompson, the tribal chief of Evansville, an Alaska Native village at the foot of the Brooks Range.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said that despite the congressional support, the Ambler Access Project ultimately faces “multiple” obstacles and will not be built immediately.
“It’s not like you open up this area and you now have a road,” Ms. Murkowski said in a brief interview on Tuesday. She declined to elaborate, and her spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maxine Joselow reports on climate policy for The Times.
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