Army Corps to reevaluate Pebble decision

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers April 25 announced that it is taking a second look at its decision to deny Pebble Limited Partnership's application for the permits to establish a mining operation at the Pebble copper project in the Bristol Bay watershed of Southwest Alaska.

The mine put forward for permitting is expected to produce 320 million pounds of copper; 363,000 ounces of gold; 15 million pounds of molybdenum; 1.8 million oz of silver; and 12,000 kilograms of rhenium annually over 20 years.

While this would provide the United States with a significant source of copper that is expected to be in a shortfall due to enormous demand being driven by the transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy, opposition to Pebble has voiced concerns about the proposed copper mine's proximity to salmon habitat in the Bristol Bay watershed.

In November 2020, Pebble Partnership reached the final stages of federal permitting for the world-class Pebble copper mine project. However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, denied issuance of the permits in its final record of decision. At the time, the federal permitting agency determined that the mine plan put forward by Pebble Partnership did not comply with guidelines under the federal Clean Water Act and was contrary to public interest.

Early in 2021, Pebble Partnership filed an appeal of this decision with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division. In its appeal, the mine proponent argued that the federal agency's findings are inconsistent with Clean Water Act regulation, unsupported by the administrative record, and unprecedented in Alaska.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division Engineer Brig. Gen. Kirk Gibbs found merit with specific portions of Pebble Partnership's appeal and has remanded the decision back to the Alaska district for further review.

"The USACE has recognized that the final decision process for Pebble was not properly undertaken and sent its decision document back to the Alaska District following our appeal over two years ago," said Pebble Limited Partnership CEO John Shively. "I am encouraged that some in the federal government recognize the importance of following a fair and established process for reviewing resource projects in Alaska."

The stand-alone appeals process provides Pebble Partnership the opportunity to argue its case on certain decisions with which they disagree.

"My decision to remand the permit application denial back to the Alaska District is not a permit authorization," said Gibbs. "The District has been asked to re-evaluate specific issues in the administrative record to ensure that the decision is well-supported."

This appeal is independent of the Environmental Protection Agency's decision earlier this year to exercise its authority under Clean Water Act Section 404(c) to restrict the discharge of dredged or fill material for the construction and operation of a mine at Pebble.

"Our technical and permitting team will now spend some time looking through all the material released today as there is a fair amount to digest," said Shively. "We have several issues in motion around the project and a key current focus for us right now is what next steps we will be taking regarding the EPA's preemptive veto of the project."

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Shane Lasley, Publisher

Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.

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