What can you do at the Pebble Project EIS site?

Have you visited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ website for the Pebble project permitting? Here are some of the things you can and cannot do at the site.

You Can:

  1. Highlight a geographic area when submitting your comment. The more specific your comment, the better. Let the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers know what location you are referencing by highlighting it on an online map. For example, you might want certain subsistence hunting/fishing locations analyzed for potential impacts of mine development. At the close of the comment period, the Corps will generate a map of Bristol Bay illustrating all the geo-located comments.
  2. Read other comments. Wondering what concerns are being raised or what support is being given? You can scroll through all the comments that have already been submitted. (See our graphic of themes submitted as of April 5.)
  3. Search submitted comments. A search bar at the top of the Submitted Comments List will let you find for specific words or phrases in comments.
  4. Check on the latest meeting dates. There are nine public meetings scheduled in Alaska, starting on April 9. Seven are in Bristol Bay, with additional meetings in Homer and Anchorage.
  5. Browse the “Project Library”for information. You will find the project overview and explanatory posters, the Environmental Baseline Document, EPA Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment, and information provided by critics. (We have also posted the Project Description and Technical Report on Pebble Watch for reader convenience.)
  6. Watch a video about the project. This 17-minute video was created by the Pebble Partnership at the Corps’ request to provide a description of the project in layman’s terms.

 

You Can’t:

  1. Submit a comment anonymously. This is a public process and all comments require name, email address, and mailing address.
  2. Submit a comment in multiple categories. After receiving comments, the Corps sorts substantive commentsinto categories. To get a head start on that process, the online form requires that you categorize your own comment. But you can only choose one: NEPA Process, Subsistence Activity, Commercial Fisheries, Recreation/Tourism, Wildlife Habitat, Surface or Groundwater Hydrology, Vegetation, Cultural Resources, Visual Resources, Wetlands, or Other. If your comment falls into multiple categories, don’t worry. It will likely be categorized under both when reviewed by the Corps. Trivia: Most comments submitted so far fall under “NEPA Process” (since it’s the 1stcategory, it’s the default).