The Army Corps of Engineers released its draft environmental impact statement of the proposed Pebble Mine project Wednesday morning.

Press statements both for and against the Pebble Mine project were quick to follow the release of the EIS, an accounting of potential environmental effects required under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, of certain proposed development projects.

The Pebble Limited Partnership “strongly believes it demonstrates that the proposed 20-year mine development plan for the Pebble deposit can be done in an environmentally responsible manner,”; while the Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay “are incredibly disappointed to see the Army Corps release its draft Environmental Impact Statement despite our unanswered questions and continued concerns about the Army Corps’ highly rushed permitting process.”

The USACE is charged with determining whether the PLP permit application complies with environmental regulations of navigable U.S. waters, under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act.

According to USACE Alaska District Program Manager Shane McCoy, the draft EIS contains a description of the affected environment, a reasonable range of alternatives including no-action alternatives, and an analysis of the potential impacts from the alternatives.

The Corps will post a notice of availability in the Federal Register on March 1, which will kick off the 90-day comment period. Comments can be submitted on the

and via handwritten mail to the US Army Corps of Engineers, 645 G St. Suite 100-921 Anchorage, AK 99501.

Nine public comment hearings will be held across the state on the draft EIS and permit application. You can find the schedule

.