Leaked Draft Final EIS Encouraging for Pebble Project
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The Executive Summary of the Preliminary Final Environmental Impact Statement (PFEIS) for the Pebble Project leaked to the media demonstrates the project can be done without harming the Bristol Bay fishery and would be beneficial to communities closest to the project, Pebble Partnership CEO Tom Collier said in a release Feb. 11. The document was prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). “We are encouraged by the information in this leaked copy of the executive summary and believe the final EIS will support issuing a permit for the construction of a mine at Pebble and that it can be done responsibly. The findings show the project can be developed without harm to the Bristol Bay fishery and would have important economic benefits for communities closest to the mine,” said Collier. Collier noted that the release of the PFEIS to the cooperating federal, state, local and tribal agencies shows that the permitting process is advancing for the project and should meet the USACE’s published schedule for a final EIS this summer. From the leaked Executive Summary: n ES-76 There would be no measurable change in the number of returning salmon and the historical relationship between ex-vessel values and wholesale values. n ES-69 Considering the low use of habitat to be removed, impacts to anadromous and resident fish populations from these direct habitat losses would be expected to fall within the range of natural variability. n ES-38 Employment through the project would have beneficial economic effects on minority and low-income communities lasting for the life of the project. n ES-35 (Subsistence) Overall, impacts to fish and wildlife would not be expected to impact harvest levels, because no population-level decrease in resources would be
anticipated. n ES-54 There would be no effects on any community groundwater or surface water supplies from the changes in groundwater flows at the mine site. “Clearly there will be a lot more information to digest when the USACE releases the final EIS this summer. We believe it will show the level of
diligence taken by the cooperating agencies to review the full technical scope of the project and to ensure all issues have been adequately evaluated in this process. We further believe it will show this project can be developed responsibly and in line with the expectations Alaskans have for economic development and environmental protection.”
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March 2020 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
www.alaskaminers.org I The Alaska Miner I March 2020
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