Pebble's environmental studies: a 20,000-page, five-year research legacy.

• Author: Taylor, Ken
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: MINING - Report

As part of its 2011 ongoing exploration and prefeasibility efforts, the Pebble Limited Partnership plans to publicly release its environmental baseline document (EBD) in 2011, a compilation of extensive scientific research conducted at the Pebble study area between 2004 and 2008.

The body of work represents a rigorous environmental studies program that historically is one of the most robust for a mining project in Alaska. Documenting five years of data collection, the research was conducted by more than 40 globally recognized independent scientific firms--including many premiere Alaska companies--representing more than 100 environmental field experts.

The Pebble deposit is recognized as a significant, world-class copper discovery, located on State land designated for mineral exploration. While companies interested in developing large natural resource projects often select a single firm to conduct environmental research for a particular project, the Pebble EBD includes the work of more than 40 global environmental firms recognized as experts in their respective fields. Several organizations were sought specifically for their Alaska knowledge and experience.

Covering a wide range of scientific disciplines from fish, surface and groundwater hydrology and water quality, to seismic activity and wildlife, the EBD documents the physiology, biology and socio-economic conditions in a study area encompassing several hundred square miles.

The 20,000-page compilation of data offers a previously unrecorded breadth of scientific study that will be a legacy for the region whether or not the Pebble project moves forward.

Work associated with the EBD took place year-round. Winter temperatures, which regularly drop below-10 F, presented particular challenges for researchers. Hydrology data collected on a monthly basis at streams, for example, often required digging through five feet of snow and augering through several feet of ice to collect samples. Likewise, summer challenges included field work conducted in densely vegetated areas supporting a significant brown bear population. Consequently, the Pebble Limited Partnership established a bear guard program that moves people away from bears, rather than the more standard practice of using noise to move bears away from people. This program, along with transporting all equipment and crews to and from the study areas as well as throughout the deposit, via helicopter, are just two examples of the Pebble Limited...