Corps releases draft review of Alaska Pebble Mine project

JUNEAU, Alaska – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a draft report detailing potential impacts of developing a large copper-and-gold mine near the headwaters of a major Alaska fishery.

The corps plans to take comments through March, April and May on its analysis of various development alternatives for the proposed Pebble Mine, including a no-development option.

The Pebble Limited Partnership has proposed an open-pit mine and related infrastructure including a power plant and water treatment plants and tailings storage sites.

The project is in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. About half the world’s sockeye salmon is produced by Bristol Bay. Critics say a mine doesn’t belong there.

Pebble in 2017 settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that cleared the way for the company to seek permits.