The Daily Caller reports that the EPA’s preemptive assessment of the Pebble copper and gold mine in Alaska could cost the U.S. $220 billion in investment. The agency’s report, based on an evaluation of a hypothetical mine, expresses concern over the site’s potential environmental impact and could lead to Pebble’s rejection before it has a chance to be reviewed. The decision’s impact would be enormous.

“To be stopped before the [permitting] process begins and subject it to a hypothetical is a new wrinkle, and that can chill capital, that can chill investment, and the jobs, in this particular economy, that we want to see,” said American Resources Principal Dan McGroarty. “It’s going to have a very negative effect on the manufacturing process in the U.S.”