JOINT BASE ELEMENDORF-RICHARDSON – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District will announce its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for review of the Pebble Limited Partnership’s (PLP) application to discharge fill material into waters of the United States for the purpose of developing a copper-molybdenum-gold mine project in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska next week.
On March 28, the Corps will publish a Notice of Intent to prepare a draft environmental impact statement in the Federal Register. The public scoping period is set to begin April 1 and conclude on April 30. Scoping is the process used to determine the appropriate contents of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The objective of scoping is to identify specific elements of the environment that might be affected by the applicant’s proposal. To learn more about the scoping process, please review the Council on Environmental Quality’s “A Citizen’s Guide to the NEPA” available at https://ceq.doe.gov/docs/get-involved/Citizens_Guide_Dec07.pdf.
“We are committed to an open, transparent, and timely process for the review of this permit application,” said Col. Michael Brooks, Alaska District commander. “Through scoping, we ask the public to help us identify the significant issues to be analyzed in the EIS and offer information to shape the alternatives to be reviewed.”
The Corps is committed to providing information to the public regarding the applicant’s permit application and the environmental review process. The permit application was made publically available on Jan. 5, 2018, and continues to be available on the Corps website at http://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices-Section-Homepage/. Also, the scoping document and all submitted information will be housed throughout the permit review process at http://www.pebbleprojecteis.com. The permit application and associated documents can be found on this site.
In addition to making information publically available and receiving written comments through the scoping period, the Corps has chosen to conduct public meetings in locations across the Bristol Bay Region as well as Anchorage and Homer. Scoping locations and dates are:
King Salmon, April 9, 2018
Kokhanok, April 10, 2018
Homer, April 11, 2018
Iliamna, April 12, 2018
Nondalton, April 16, 2018
Dillingham, April 17, 2018
Anchorage, April 19, 2018
Due to the anticipated high attendance at the Anchorage, Homer and Dillingham meetings, an open microphone forum will not be provided. At all meetings, court reporters will be available to record public testimony.
Written comments may be submitted at any of the public meetings or mailed to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District
ATTN: DA Permit Application 2017-271, Pebble Limited Partnership
P.O. Box 6898
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 99506-0898
Please note all comments submitted will include the entire comment including any personal information such as name, address and email, and will become part of the public record.
For more information regarding the evaluation of DA Permit application POA-2017-271 please visit
https://www.pebbleprojecteis.com.
To learn more about the Corps’ Regulatory Division and its program, visit http://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/.
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