Pebble EIS shows clear path forward
SPECIAL TO THE ALASKA MINER The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Pebble Project has been released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and is available for public review. The DEIS is an important step forward for the project. It provides an objective, transparent, LYO^NTPY_TʭN]PaTPbZQ_SP[]Z[Z^PO dPL]XTYP development plan for the Pebble deposit. The DEIS was prepared by USACE and had partici- pation from more than a dozen cooperating state and federal government agencies along with the Lake and Peninsula Borough and two tribal organizations. The next phase in the process is the 90-day public comment period, which began March 1, and will be open through May 30, 2019. The full DEIS, organized into six major sections, is available on the USACE website, PebbleProjectEIS. com, and at PebbleProject.com/DEIS. The Executive Summary provides a comprehensive overview of the /04>ʭYOTYR^ The Pebble team has long said the Pebble Project bZ`WOYZ_SL]X_SPʭ^SLYObL_P]]P^Z`]NP^ZQ_SP area and believes the DEIS validates this commit- ment. ,XZYR_SPVPdʭYOTYR^]PRL]OTYRʭ^SLYObL_P]% The DEIS says the project would not reduce returning adult salmon to the Kvichak and Nushagak river systems as a result of project operations. And it predicts no long-term change to the health of _SP-]T^_ZW-LdLYO.ZZV4YWP_ʭ^SP]TP^/04>0cPN Summary P.54) The USACE document states that a catastrophic failure of the tailings facility at Pebble is extremely unlikely (DEIS at 4.27.6.6) and that there would be
YZ[Z[`WL_TZYTX[LN_^QZ]ʭ^SQ]ZX_SP_LTWTYR^]P - lease scenarios evaluated. (DEIS Exec Summary P.71) There will be no downstream impacts from the pit in post closure. (DEIS Exec Summary P.41) ?SP/04>YZ_P^YPRWTRTMWPTX[LN__ZʮZb^TY Upper Talarik Creek during operations and no im- [LN_^ _Z ʮZb^ TY _SP @?. LQ_P] NWZ^`]P /04> L_ 4.16.42) Pebble will use two water treatment plants to ensure water discharge meets Alaska’s criteria for water prior to discharge and will use a sophisticated water management plan that will strategically dis- NSL]RPbL_P]TYLWW_S]PPYPL]Md^_]PLX^_ZMPYPʭ_ ʭ^SSLMT_L_/04>L_ Currently, the communities located near the Peb- MWP/P[Z^T_TY>Z`_SbP^_,WL^VLQLNP^TRYTʭNLY_^Z - cioeconomic challenges. The DEIS documents that the overall local community economic and health MPYPʭ_^]PWL_PO_Z_SP[]Z[Z^PO[]ZUPN_bTWWMP^`M - stantial. The DEIS notes the project is likely to reduce the high cost of living, support schools via revenue generated through the Lake and Peninsula Borough and potentially reduce population declines that have MPPY^TRYTʭNLY__S]Z`RSZ`__SP[L^_OPNLOP The DEIS points out that Alaska has experience with co-existence between Alaska’s resource proj- PN_^ LYO ʭ^STYR LYO YZ_P^ _SL_ ;PMMWPɪ^ L[[]ZLNS will use best industry management practices. Alaska has an established environmental track record with mining via our existing operations at Red Dog, Ft. Knox, Pogo, Greens Creek and Kensington. All have responsible environmental track records and co-ex- T^_bT_S_SPʭ^SLYObTWOWTQP]P^Z`]NP^L]Z`YO_SPX In October 2017, the Pebble Partnership brought
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