The Pebble Mine project’s final Environmental Impact Statement will be released at the end of the week. The report is expected on Friday July 24.
Last week, the Pebble Partnership claimed in a release that this final EIS will demonstrate why they believe the controversial project can be done without harm to the Bristol Bay fishery. Pebble’s confidence is at odds with the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, which has shown a consistent message of concern about the risks posed by the mine.
In December 2017, the Pebble Limited Partnership submitted its application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to initiate permitting for a 20-year mine development plan for the Pebble Deposit. It has been met with controversy for primarily environmental reasons, but the Pebble Partnership has changed their plans over the years to suit those concerns.
Mark Hamilton, Vice President of External Affairs for the Pebble Project, is confident in the timetable the project is on: “A junior in high school could get a Master’s Degree in Mining Engineering by the time we produce our first ingot of copper, all things working out the way we planned. It’s quite a long project, quite a difficult one, and quite an expensive one. We’ve certainly spent in the neighborhood of a billion dollars thus far. It’ll probably be four years of construction to the tune of north of four-billion dollars. That’ll be a huge impact to the state, by the way: 2,000 jobs for four years building that mine. They’ll feel this coming before we actually produce any copper.”
Friday’s Environmental Impact Statement is what is known as a “record of decision.” The final permitting decision is not expected for at least 30 days after Friday’s statement.