The federal government is urging the company behind the Pebble Mine to take additional steps to limit “undesirable adverse effects on aquatic resources,” delaying its final decision on the project.
A letter, published last week but published online Monday, follows political pressure from conservatives, including Donald Trump Jr.
Don John TrumpTrump Jr. distances from Bannon group, says he attended ‘one’ event Watchdog to weigh probes of Trump administration’s advancement of Pebble Mine Trump promises to look at ‘both sides’ on Pebble Mine MORE and host Fox News Tucker Carlson
Tucker CarlsonDC Mayor Bowser rejects Tucker Carlson remarks: ‘People do not leave DC in dread’ Trump beats McCain, ‘deadheads’ who sabotage his campaign from within’ NY Democrat Omeed Malik with Daily Caller as minority investor, contributed editor MORE, who have joined forces against the mine, that would lie at a leading sockfish salmon fishery in Alaska.
Prior to the new letter, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) issued a statement on environmental impact finding that the proposed project would not affect salmon harvesting in the area, and an Obama-era stipulated that it would. The most recent review also said the project would affect wetlands and streams.
Now, the Army Corps is giving Pebble Limited Partnership, the company behind the mine, 90 days to submit a plan to curb impacts such as discharges into wetlands, waters and streams.
The Army Corps said it would “check the compensatory mitigation plan at the time of submission to determine if the amount and type of compensatory mitigation offered is sufficient to compensate for the identified incorruptible negative effects on aquatic resources and overcome significant degradation at the mining site.” “
The letter said dumping of the mine site would directly or indirectly affect 2,825 acres of wetlands, 132.5 acres of open water and 129.5 miles of stream and that discharges from its transportation corridor would affect 460 acres of wetlands, 231.7 acres of open waters and 55.5 miles of streams.
Pebble Limited Partnership CEO Tom Collier on Monday downplayed the significance of the Army Corps of Engineers’ new requirements.
“Based on our understanding of the contents of this letter, our discussions with the State, our substantial work in the field and our discussions with the USACE, we believe that our final submission of Comprehensive Management Plan will be submitted within weeks and meet all the requirements of the letter, ”Collier said in a statement.
‘Anyone who suggests a different opinion – that is to say that Pebble can not follow the letter or that such satisfaction is the issue of a [decision]- should be unaware of the DELIVERY preparation we have undertaken to meet the requirements of the letter, “he added, saying the company” will share more details of our initial plan as they become more defined. “
Collier denied that the recent attention of leading conservatives played a role in the letter from the USACE.
“A clear reading of the letter shows that it is not at all related to recent tweets about Pebble and one-sided news shows. The White House had nothing to do with the letter … This is the next step in what is a comprehensive, exhausting “has been a two-and-a-half-year review of the project. Nothing in the letter is a surprise to us like her,” he said.
Joel Reynolds, a senior lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the letter was likely to cause a “very significant” delay in the project.
“The problem with Pebble is that it’s always been the wrong mine in the wrong place,” Reynolds told The Hill. “A massive open pit at the headwaters of the largest fisheries in the world is a project whose impact can not be limited.”
He also said that it was very unusual for the government to demand a new mitigation plan late in the game.
“These kinds of problems are typically solved by this stage,” Reynolds said. “This has only become public after the final declaration of environmental impact has been issued. That’s remarkable. ”
The two Alaska Republican senators issued statements in support of the Army Corps decision, saying Monday they do not want the government to issue a permit for the mine, as it is currently being proposed.
“I understand, respect and support this decision. I agree that a license should not be issued. And I thank the administration for its commitment to the protection of this world-class water class and salmon fishery, ”said Sen. Lisa Murkowski
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“Pebble, like all resource development projects in Alaska, must pass a high bar – a bar that the Trump administration has determined Pebble did not meet. I support this conclusion – based on the best available science and a strict, honest process. – that a federal permit cannot be issued, “added Sen. Dan Sullivan
Daniel Scott SullivanSullivan wins Alaska Senate GOP primary independent Al Gross wins primary Alaska Democratic Senate The Hill’s Convention Report: Democrats Gather for Day Two of Convention MORE.
In recent weeks, some conservatives have expressed concern about the project. After the opposition of his son, President Trump
Donald John TrumpGeorge Conway withdrew from Lincoln Project Kellyanne Conway to leave the White House at the end of the month Goodell from NFL to Kaepernick to protest: ‘I wish we had heard earlier’ MORE said he would look to “both sides” of the issue.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed under the Obama administration a permit for the mine to be preemptively vetoed. The Trump administration reversed that action last year.
Updated at 3:39 p.m.
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