Pebble Hails EPA’s Return To Fair Process
Exploration work on the Pebble Project site continues in the 2019 summer season, while awaiting approval to continue work.
The Following information was provided by PLP via press release July 30. Collier expressly thanked Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy for his lead- ership in encouraging EPA to withdraw its Proposed Determination. “As Governor Dunleavy clearly recognizes, major companies will not invest in resource development in Alaska if projects can be vetoed before they receive a fair review. Alaska has needed this kind of leadership for years. Governor Dunleavy appears to be fulfilling his pledge to make sure the world knows Alaska is open for business, and supports responsible resource development,” Collier said. The formal withdrawal of EPA’s Proposed Determination is one of a series of important milestones that Pebble believes demonstrate it is progressing steadily toward a positive Record of Decision. Others include: •In December 2017, Pebble submitted a permit application to the Corps for a project with a substantially smaller development footprint and enhanced environmental safeguards. This includes elimination of cyanide from mineral processing; removal of all mine facilities from the Upper Talarik drainage; no permanent waste rock storage on surface; enhanced tailings storage facility safety and stability measures; and, more robust water management and treatment capabilities. Pebble’s application was accompanied by approximately $150 million of environmental baseline data — one of the most extensive such databases ever submitted for a mining project in America. •In February 2019, the Corps issued the Draft EIS for the Pebble Project – the first time a truly objective, expert analysis of Pebble’s potential environmental impacts has been published in the more than 10 years that debate about the project has raged. The Draft EIS makes clear that the proposed mine will not harm Bristol Bay fisheries. •In November 2018 and May 2019, PLP announced Right-of-Way Agreements with two Alaska Native village corporations with exten- sive landholdings near Pebble, securing access to a transportation corridor to serve the proposed mine. The agreements make Alaska Peninsula Corporation and Iliamna Natives Limited partners in the Pebble enterprise and demonstrate local Alaska Native support for the project.
•In addition to overwhelmingly electing pro-development Governor Mike Dunleavy in November 2018, Alaska voters rejected an an- ti-development ballot measure promoted by its proponents to stop Pebble by a margin of more than 2:1. “The withdrawal of the Proposed Determination... the proposal for a smaller, environmentally optimized mine... the Draft EIS conclusions regarding the Bristol Bay salmon fishery... the published schedule for the Final EIS and Record of Decision... and the favorable political climate in Alaska – together, these factors give us a high level of confi- dence that we will get a permit,” Collier said. “The smaller, environmentally enhanced mine plan meets the high environmental standards and permitting requirement enforced in the US and Alaska and should receive a permit.” Collier further predicted that opponents will say, notwithstanding to- day’s withdrawal of the Proposed Determination, that EPA can always initiate a new veto process next year. “Really? Why in the world would EPA withdraw a proposed veto today, if it intends to initiate a new one in less than a year?” he asked. As proposed, the Pebble Project is expected to generate tens of millions of dollars in State government revenues each year at a time when the State of Alaska is facing a fiscal crisis. It is also expected to support some 2,000 Alaska jobs, with average compensation for mine “The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 Regional Administrator is providing notice of the EPA’s decision to withdraw the Proposed Determination to restrict the use of certain waters in the South Fork Koktuli River, North Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds in southwest Alaska as disposal sites for dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble deposit.” The complete 28-page EPA press release is available online at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-07/documents/bris- tol-bay-frn-pre-publication-7-30-2019.pdf workers in excess of $100,000/year. In its executive summary, the EPA said:
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August 2019 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
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