NOW READ OUR ARTICLES IN 40 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
HOME PAGE All ADVERTISING OPTIONS SUBSCRIPTIONS - Print Edition, Newsletter Service PRODUCTS - Special Publications SEARCHABLE ARCHIVES Free Trial Subscription
WEEKLY ONLINE NEWS STORY
You are receiving this weekly newsletter at no additional cost as part of your subscription to Petroleum News. If you do not want to receive this newsletter, email Shane Lasley at [email protected] to be removed from the list.

March 06, 2014 --- Vol. 08, No. 10March 2014

EPA deems Pebble ‘unpermittable’ until proven otherwise

After three years of study, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency envisions a Pebble Mine that damages the integrity of the Bristol Bay Watershed and the prolific salmon fishery found in this region of Southwest Alaska.

“Extensive existing data, including information that was collected as part of EPA’s three-year scientific assessment, provided ample reasons for EPA to believe that a mine of the size and scope of the Pebble Mine would have significant and irreversible negative impacts on the Bristol Bay Watershed and its salmon bearing waters,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters during a Feb. 28 briefing.

“Pebble is a very low-grade porphyry copper deposit which, by its very nature has to be developed in a very specific way – it has to have a very large open-pit, it will have extremely large waste piles and very large tailings facilities holding acid generating mine waste,” added Dennis McLerran, the administrator for EPA Region 10, an area that includes Alaska.

Based on these assumptions, alongside the fact that Bristol Bay hosts a world-class salmon fishery, EPA has decided to initiate a process under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act.

“Today, EPA is taking a significant step forward in our efforts to ensure the world’s most productive salmon fishery is safe from the risks it faces from what could be one of the largest mines on Earth,” McCarthy proclaimed.

With the EPA entering the CWA Section 404(c) process under the assumption that a mine at Pebble would damage the Bristol Bay Watershed, it is now up to the Pebble Partnership, state of Alaska and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to convince the environmental agency that a mine at Pebble could developed and operated in a manner that would protect the streams and rivers around the project area and the fish that depend on them.

“The first step in this process is to reach out to the state, to the mining companies and to the Army Corps; and to ask them what other information they want to provide,” McCarthy explained.

The Pebble deposit – which contains an estimated 80.6 billion pounds of copper, 107.4 million ounces of gold and 5.6 billion pounds of molybdenum – is situated on state lands in an area of Southwest Alaska that has long been open to mineral exploration and potential mine development.

A number of Alaska lawmakers consider EPA’s involvement at Pebble prior to the permitting process as an example of federal overreach into state interests.

“When a company applies for a state permit it kicks off a process. We’re not even at that stage yet. However, the EPA is stepping in and saying we want to influence this before a public permitting process can begin,” Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell commented on EPA’s decision to initiate the CWA 404(c) review.

EPA said the 404(c) review process typically takes about a year. During this time, the state and Pebble Partnership have the opportunity to provide information that convinces the agency that the enormous copper project should be allowed to enter permitting.

“Based on the input EPA receives during any of these steps, including information received during step one, the agency could decide that further review under section 404(c) is no longer necessary,” McLerran explains.

“It is a significant decision to launch this process but it is not the end of the road,” McCarthy added.

The Pebble Partnership believes they can get beyond the CWA 404(c) process and into permitting.

“We remain confident in our project and our position. We will continue to state our case with the EPA as we work through their process. The EPA’s actions today are an unprecedented federal action and reflect a major overreach onto an asset of the state of Alaska,” said Tom Collier, who assumed the role of Pebble Partnership CEO in early February.

Northern Dynasty, currently the sole owner of the Pebble Partnership, said it has compiled hundreds of pages of documentation that “raises serious issues of bias, political motivation and collusion with environmental non-governmental organizations in the federal agency’s preparation of the Bristol Bay Assessment.”

“The steps taken by the EPA to date have gone well outside of its normal practice, have been biased throughout, and have been unduly influenced by environmental advocacy organizations,” he added.

In early January, Northern Dynasty submitted this information, much of which was gathered through Freedom of Information Act requests, to EPA Inspector General, an independent office within the federal environmental agency. The Pebble owner has requested an investigation into the allegations of inappropriate environmental NGO involvement in the preparation Bristol Bay Assessment.

Beyond the allegations of unfair bias, Northern Dynasty hopes to work with the federal environmental agency in coming up with an acceptable mine plan.

“We will participate fully in EPA’s process to consider necessary safeguards to ensure that responsible mineral development can co-exist with clean water and healthy fisheries in Bristol Bay, and we will continue our efforts to prepare for the NEPA permitting process to come,” said Northern Dynasty President and CEO Ron Thiessen.


Did you find this article interesting? Email it to an associate.
Print this story

Mining News North - Phone: 1-907 522-9469 - Fax: 1-907 522-9583
[email protected] --- http://www.MiningNewsNorth.com
S U B S C R I B E