Concerns are being raised about the state's regulatory oversight of exploration at the copper and gold Pebble prospect. Carol Ann Woody is a former federal fisheries biologist who says there is a possibility that exploratory drill rigs at the Southwest Alaska are drawing up amounts of water that could be harmful to developing salmon.

The Anchorage-based Renewable Resources Coalition is the opposition group that has hired Woody on as a consultant. Statements made by the Pebble Partnership, the company hired by Pebble Mine to explore the deposit, said there is no evidence that backs any of Woody's fears.

The company's drilling permit, said state officials, was approved after the impacts on fish-bearing streams were determined to be negligible.