JUNEAU (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is extending until Dec. 2 the timeline to decide whether to proceed with proposed restrictions that would block plans for the controversial Pebble copper and gold mine in Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay region.

The agency, in a recent notice, said this would “help ensure full consideration of the extensive administrative record, including all public comments.” The public comment period ended Sept. 6.

The EPA earlier this year released a proposal that it said would bar discharges of dredged or fill material into the waters of th...