Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
observations and measurement of DCR handling is being used in support of
the follow-up tiered EIS to fully evaluate the effectiveness and economic impli-
cations resulting from more stringent regulations and issue a final rule.
10.3
AJ Mine Tailings Disposal EIS
Juneau, the capital of Alaska is a gold mining city. It was established to exploit
the rich mineral deposits in the mountains surrounding what is now the
coastal city of Juneau, and much of the city land is the result of using mine tail-
ings (waste rock resulting from mining) as fill. The AJ mine, which is directly
adjacent to the city, was productive for a long time but the increased costs of
extracting gold from the less productive formation combined with the lack of
resources to continue mining associated with the outbreak of World War II
forced the shutdown of the AJ Mine. But in the 1990s, advanced mining tech-
niques and economic conditions created an interest in reopening the mine.
One of the major impediments to reinitiating mining operations was the
management and disposal of the 80 million metric tons of mine tailings. No
land was available for land-filling the tailings and other alternatives, such as
creating a dam in one of the valleys to retain the material, were dismissed as
far too environmentally damaging. This left marine disposal of the tailing
as the only viable option available if the mine was to reopen. The marine
disposal was regulated by the U.S. EPA under the Clean Water Act, and thus
EPA was required to comply with NEPA by preparing an EIS as a precursor
to issuing a discharge permit under the Act.
Early attempts by the mining company to address environmental concerns
were met with skepticism by the stakeholders, including the Juneau municipal
officials, state environmental regulatory personnel, and employees of several
federal agencies. As a result, the mining company and U.S. EPA agreed to con-
duct a “third party EIS,” whereby a third party contractor was hired to conduct
the environmental impact analysis. The mining company paid for the analysis
but the third party took direction from the EPA, thus satisfying stakeholders
that the analysis would be unbiased and the level and detail of scientific stud-
ies to understand environmental effects relatively unconstrained.
This approach and the mining company's willingness to do “whatever it
takes” for EPA to approve the marine discharge resulted in elements of the
environmental analysis which went beyond typical EISs, including:
r Extensive Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Citizen Advisory
Committee (CAC) involvement:
-
Formation of numerous subgroups based on different environ-
mental resources (e.g., water quality, fisheries, marine mammals,
sea birds, and benthos)
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