Jul. 31, 2009 (United Press International) -- A coalition of Indian villages, the wife of a former governor and others are trying to block permits for an Alaskan gold and copper mine, court records show.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in state court in Anchorage charges exploration permits were granted for the Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska without an opportunity for public comment, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Thursday. The plaintiffs asked a judge to throw out the existing permitting system and bar any new permits for the mine until the legislature adopts a new system.

In addition to the Bristol Bay native village corporations, the plaintiffs include Bella Hammond. Her husband, Jay, who died in 2005, was mayor of Bristol Bay in the 1970s and governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982.

Opponents of the mine say it would threaten the Bristol Bay salmon fishery by polluting some of the streams that flow into it. Backers say it would provide several hundred jobs.

The lawsuit did not name the partnership seeking to develop the mine, Anglo American, based in Britain, and Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (AMEX:NAK) , headquartered in British Columbia. A spokesman said the partnership may try to intervene in the lawsuit.