Pebble Limited Partnership: Letter Part of ‘Normal’ Permitting
Pebble Limited Partnership: Letter Part of ‘Normal’ Permitting
since the end of July conducting additional wetlands surveys to provide us with additional information to include in our plan. “Once the draft LEDPA was determined, the USACE began to focus on its conclusions regarding mitigation needs. It is our understanding that these issues were reviewed with other agencies including EPA and USFWS. We were informed about six weeks ago of how the USACE was leaning regarding mitigation. We began at that time focusing on a preliminary plan. We built two temporary camps in the watershed housing a total of about 25 people. A number of teams from those camps have been mapping the wetlands in the region for about four weeks now. “Based on our understanding of the substance of the letter, our discussions with the state, our substantial work in the field and our discussions with the USACE we believe our final Comprehensive Management Plan submission will be submitted within weeks and will satisfy all of the requirements of the letter. “Anyone suggesting a different opinion—i.e. that Pebble will not be able to comply with the letter or that such
compliance will significantly delay issuing a ROD— must be ignorant of the extensive preparation we have undertaken in order to meet the requirements of the letter. “We will share more details of our initial plan as they become more defined.” Ryan Fisher, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, one of the senior leaders responsible for the USACE, clarified that the Alaska District letter is the “guiding policy” for the federal review for Pebble and “not a press release from the Army that used stronger language against the project or other political noise in opposition to it.” “It is my hope that we can now get back to reporting about the facts when it comes to Pebble. We will provide the necessary mitigation and in fact we are well down the road to doing so. The final Environmental Impact Statement says Pebble development won’t damage the fishery in Bristol Bay. Thus, we see no scientific or regulatory reason why we should not have a positive record of decision on the project,” Collier said.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) sent a letter to the Pebble Partnership in late August outlining its expectations for compensatory mitigation wetlands impacts associated with the project. The letter from the USACE has been anticipated by the Pebble Partnership as part of the ongoing discussions about the issue. PLP CEO Tom Collier issued the following statement about the letter and media reports about its contents: “The letter we received is a normal letter in the permitting process and we are well into an effort to present a mitigation plan to the USACE that complies with the requirements of their letter. A clear reading of the letter shows it is entirely unrelated to recent tweets about Pebble and one-sided news shows. The White House had nothing to do with the letter nor is it the show-stopper described by several in the news media over the weekend. “The letter does not ask for a delay or pause in the permitting process. In fact, it clearly states that the USACE is continuing its work toward a Record of Decision for the project. This is the next step in what has
been a comprehensive, exhaustive two-and-a-half-year review of the project. Nothing in the letter is a surprise to us or them. “The letter does not ask for ‘more’ or ‘additional’ mitigation. This is the first time the USACE has put its formal assessment regarding mitigation for the Pebble Project on the record. Thus, it is a ‘first’ request, not a new or additional one and it is in line with what we anticipated. “The USACE has identified the wetlands and stream impacts at the project mine site to include about 3000 acres of wetlands and about 100 miles of streams. The USACE has stated that the mitigation must be ‘in kind’ and ‘in watershed.’ In order to provide such mitigation Pebble intends to include in its CMP a plan to preserve enough land so that multiples of the number of impacted wetlands acres are preserved. Additional mitigation will also be provided for the transportation corridor. “We have been working on the details of a plan with the USACE and the State of Alaska since earlier in the summer. We have had crews in the field near the site
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September 2020 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
www.alaskaminers.org I The Alaska Miner I September 2020
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