Red Dog Mine –
Aqqaluk Project Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a final
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Red Dog Mine.
The Red Dog Mine is operated by Teck Cominco Alaska, Incorporated (Teck),
which is proposing to extend the life of the Red Dog Mine operation. The
Red Dog Mine is located in northwestern Alaska, approximately 82 miles north
of Kotzebue. The Red Dog Mine operation consists of an open pit mine, mill
for processing ore, waste rock disposal areas, tailings impoundment, and
support facilities. Zinc and lead concentrates produced at the mill are
trucked 52 miles to a port site on the Chukchi Sea for shipping to smelters
outside of Alaska. The current mine pit will be mined out between 2010 and
2012. Teck proposes to mine an adjacent deposit, called the Aqqaluk
Deposit, in order to continue operations until approximately 2031.
The final SEIS will serve to support EPA’s proposed decision to reissue the
Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit for the Red Dog Mine including any changes as a result
of mining the Aqqaluk Deposit. The final SEIS updates the environmental
impact statement (EIS) developed in 1984 when the first NPDES permit was
issued for discharges from the mine. The SEIS is also intended to support
permitting associated with the Aqqaluk deposit by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (Corps) under Clean Water Act Section 404. Both federal actions
the NPDES permit and 404 permits require compliance with NEPA. The EPA is
the lead agency for the development of the SEIS. Cooperating agencies
include: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, State of
Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Northwest Arctic Borough, and, as
represented by the Maniilaq Association, nine tribal governments (Buckland,
Kiana, Kivalina, Kobuk, Kotzebue, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, and Shungnak).
EPA selected Tetra Tech to be the third-party contractor to work with EPA and the cooperating agencies to write the SEIS.
The Final SEIS includes a response to comments received on the draft SEIS. This website provides access to the draft and final SEIS and supporting documents. It also provides information on requesting copies of the document and comments on the final SEIS should be submitted to Patty McGrath, at the contact information below, by November 9, 2009.