CEO Collier Says Decision is Positive News
ANCHORAGE, AK – A letter issued today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirming the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process for the proposed Pebble mine currently being led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is proceeding well, and effectively addressing all issues and concerns raised by EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and other cooperating agencies, was hailed by Pebble Partnership CEO Tom Collier as a positive step in the project’s permitting process.
Collier also noted the letter reflects the EPA’s decision not to pursue so-called 3(b) elevation under the Clean Water Act Section 404(q) guidelines.
“This determination by the EPA is another indication of positive progress for the project. This is on the heels last of week’s announcement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) indicating their LEDPA determination would be for Alternative 3 — the northern route. We also saw the positive Preliminary Final Environmental Impact Statement earlier this year showing the project can be done responsibly and without harm to the Bristol Bay fishery.
“The decision last year by EPA to withdraw the Obama administration’s pending veto (confirmed by a federal court’s recent dismissal of the case brought by NRDC and others attacking that withdrawal), gives us strong reason to believe that EPA will not veto the USACE Record of Decision for the project. Today’s decision not to file a 3(b) letter gives us more reason to believe that there will be no veto. This is consistent with our observation that USACE and EPA, and the other cooperating agencies, have been working well together to resolve all outstanding issues. The recent LEDPA announcement is further tangible evidence of that cooperation as we understand other federal agencies preferred the northern transportation corridor alternative.
“Our core principle has always been for the project to be done in a way that does not harm the fishery or water resources in Bristol Bay. The draft EIS showed this, the PFEIS shows this and we are confident the final EIS will show this and demonstrate to Alaskans that this is an important project for the state’s future.
“The USACE continues to advance a rigorous and transparent review of all aspects and alternatives of our project. It has involved cooperating agencies from the federal, state, local, and tribal governments in its review of the many technical issues facing the project. The permitting process for the project is reasonable and objective. We have always said let science and technical information guide decisions about the project. The EPA decision to not pursue a 3(b) elevation is in line with this notion.”
Background
In 1992, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the EPA entered into a memorandum of agreement about how to implement Section 404(q) of the Clean Water Act including a process for evaluating and elevating beyond the regional level specific individual permit cases that involve aquatic resources of national importance. The EPA notified the USACE in July 2019 that under section 3(a) it was determining whether the issues at Pebble should be elevated within the agencies. Had the EPA wanted to pursue that path, it would have taken action via section 3(b) and today was the deadline for a decision. The agency has determined it will not elevate the issue. Instead, the traditional federal permitting process for the Pebble Project will continue.
The USACE published the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Pebble Project in February 2019 and undertook a 120-day public comment period to receive input from project stakeholders and government agencies. The USACE has spent many months reviewing and responding to all comments and has indicated their intent to publish a final EIS this summer. It is anticipated that a Record of Decision (ROD) could be published some 30 days after that.