On Thursday, July 23, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a critical document in the permit application review process for the proposed Pebble mine: the final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The FEIS shows more than 191 miles of streams and 4,614 acres of wetlands would be impacted if phase one of the proposed Pebble mine advances, with 185 miles and 3,841 acres permanently impacted.

Knowing that the real gold lies in the salmon that have sustained and will continue to sustain the people of Bristol Bay for generations, Alaskans have said no for decades. Now, the investment community is joining them.

The Pebble Limited Partnership recently announced their next tactic to gain the appearance of a social license in Bristol Bay, angering local residents who reiterated their longstanding opposition to the project.

Since his 2018 election, Alaskans have watched Governor Dunleavy move from a place of relative neutrality, to repeated actions that suggest that he is in full support of the Canadian mining company that plans to risk Alaskan businesses, families and cultures.  

On Thursday, May 28th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Pebble permit reviewers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detailing ongoing concerns with impacts of the proposed Pebble mine.  

On Wednesday, May 20th, 250 hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation businesses and organizations sent a letter to the President calling on him to deny the key federal permit for the proposed Pebble mine. The letter was delivered with a similar letter individually signed by over 30,000 hunters and anglers from across the country requesting the president stop the proposed copper and gold mine.

This week, nearly 50 sport fishing and recreation businesses from the Bristol Bay region submitted a letter to Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, asking him to halt his actions supporting the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP).

On April 15, 2020, the State of Alaska sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers asking the agency to stick to their rushed permit review process for the Pebble project, calling it “important to Alaskans.” This couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Executive Summary of the preliminary Final Environmental Impact Statement was leaked to the public and we’ve had a chance to take a look. What we see shows a plan empirically different than what was available for public comment in 2019. This is a huge problem.