FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2018
Contact: Nelli Williams, Trout Unlimited (907) 230-7121 or nwilliams@tu.org
Sportsmen call process underway by Army Corps of Engineers inadequate at addressing risks of proposed Pebble mine
ANCHORAGE, AK - At just 37 pages and hours before the start of a holiday weekend, today the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its final scoping report concerning Pebble Limited Partnership’s mining permit application.
“Thousands of Alaskans detailed concerns with a mine plan set forth by Pebble, and yet the Pebble Partnership continues to push a mine that Alaskans don’t want, and the Army Corps of Engineers continues to advance a permit. This scoping report confirms our fears that the current review by the Army Corps is far from the robust, fair, and transparent process Alaskans have demanded. A project the size and scale of the proposed Pebble mine should be held to the highest standards, and that’s far from what we’ve seen.
"We need Alaska’s Governor, agency officials, and Alaska's congressional delegation to join Alaskans and weigh in heavily on this process to ensure the best interests of Alaskans are considered before those of a mining company. This rushed, inadequate process is unacceptable and should not be allowed when the stakes are so high,” said Nelli Williams, director of Trout Unlimited’s Alaska program.
The scoping report left out numerous important technical reports and other research critical to a robust evaluation of the impacts of large-scale mining and associated infrastructure on the fisheries, water quality, recreation and the regional economy of Bristol Bay.
"The report also glosses over important details raised by Alaskans, making it impossible to tell if they understand the heart of the concerns raised or are just going through the motions," said Williams.
The spring scoping period was the first formal opportunity for public to tell the Corps of Engineers what should be considered when conducting the Environmental Impact Statement for Pebble. Over 400,000 comments were submitting raising concerns about Pebble’s application, including the incompleteness of the plan submitted, lack of demonstrated proof of financial viability, inadequate opportunity for public input, improperly segmenting review due to a mine we know will expand, and myriad impacts to the region. These scoping comments follow millions of comments over the past ten years demonstrating widespread opposition to the Pebble mine from Alaskans and sportsmen around the country.
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Specific concerns about Pebble’s plan submitted by TU during scoping can be found here. A letter submitted by more than two dozen Alaskan business owners is here.
Trout Unlimited is the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization. In Alaska, we work with more than 100 angling businesses and thousands of individual sportsmen and women to ensure the state’s trout and salmon resources remain healthy through our local chapters and offices in Anchorage and Juneau. Follow TU on Facebook and Twitter, and visit us online at tu.org and savebristolbay.org