"The Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog has found no evidence of bias in the agency’s efforts to block a proposed gold mine from being built near Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

The EPA’s Inspector General, in a report released on Wednesday, said agency officials followed normal guidelines in assessing whether the controversial Pebble Mine project should be built. The EPA is moving toward a formal decision to bar mining operations in the region citing risks to wildlife, including the world’s biggest run of sockeye salmon.

The report did cite “possible misuse of position” by an EPA employee who used his personal email in communicating with Alaskan tribes opposed to the mine."

Joby Warrick reports for the Washington Post January 13, 2016. [2]