A group of scientists and Bristol Bay residents held a press conference, detailing concerns with the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in February<\/a>. Some critics have said the 90-day comment period for this DEIS is not long enough, considering the length of the document. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The chief concerns were that the DEIS used too short of a time frame to associate the risks of the mine, it used an inappropriate fish habitat assessment, cumulative risks were essentially ignored, there was very little mention of long-term risks associated with climate change and that it used selective use of scientific literature when backing up claims.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t [Like ‘Willie Nelson regulating pot?’ Public skeptical of commissioner’s Pebble past]<\/ins><\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “It is absolutely clear that it has way underestimated risks and does not pass as credible science,” said Daniel Schindler, a professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington during the press conference.<\/p>\n Dr. Daniel Schindler, a professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, left, and Dr. Cameron Wobus, a Senior Scientist at Lynker Technologies, present at a press conference against the\tPebble Mine project on Monday, April 1, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t Resources Co-Chair, Rep. Geran Tarr, D-Anchorage, says that the Army Corps of Engineers will be speaking in front of the committee on the same topic soon.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Norman Van Vactor, a longtime participant in Bristol Bay fisheries and current CEO of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, said that he has absolutely no confidence in the Army permitting process.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “To allow Pebble to drive this permitting process makes absolutely no sense and defeats the purpose of a permitting process to begin with,” he said at the press conference. “(The) process should be testing their assumptions, not taking Pebble at it’s word. … Science drives the decision-making, not industry speculation, fantasies or good intentions. The Army Corps’ draft is the complete opposite — it ignores well documented data and is missing critical info. … Why are we lowering the bar to the lowest level possible? Alaska should be upholding strong standards and science-based permitting in all industries not just some.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The group also took problem with the economic implications of the mine, saying that major mining companies would not invest in the project because it would not net enough profit if it was only open for 20 years, the period the DEIS draft uses.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “The economic world says this doesn’t work either,” said Rick Halford, a former Alaska legislator. “Everything they do is designed to get a permit, and the permit is going to be worthless. This mine is at least a mile deep and it’s the richest at depth and to mine your way down to the money and then stop is a ridiculous assumption.”<\/p>\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/16216087_web1_IMG_9415.jpg\")
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