The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released its final environmental impact statement on the proposed Donlin Gold project.
If developed, the undertaking would be massive and span hundreds of miles in multiple directions, from a natural gas pipeline stretching between Cook Inlet and the Upper Kuskokwim River, to barging along the Kuskokwim, and, of course, a mine site near the Kuskokwim village of Crooked Creek that would extend across thousands of acres.
If constructed, the mine is projected to produce more than 33 million ounces of gold over 27 years.
The environmental impact statement is meant to list the potential and perceived environmental impacts of the mining project. The hardcopy version of the draft document totaled more than 5,000 pages and stood more than a foot high.
The public has 30 days to comment on the final version. Then regulatory agencies will begin reviewing the document to work their way through the hundreds of permits that the project needs to operate. The final day to submit comments is May 29, 2018.
Anna Rose MacArthur is a reporter at KYUK in Bethel.
