PHOENIX, March 9, 2017 — For Immediate Release.
A document summarizing the scoping process for the Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is done and available online.
The scoping report’s content includes concerns raised during the comment period including the views of those who participated in the public scoping meetings. Five chapters provide details on the following categories:
- Project overview and scoping process
- Public meeting summary
- Public comment summary
- Internal scoping summary
- Cooperating agency and tribal scoping summary
Scoping is a process that continues throughout the early stages of EIS preparation. The Tonto National Forest’s Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS, Request for Comments, and Notice of Public Scoping was published in the Federal Register on March 18, 2016. Publication of the NOI represents the official start of the process to prepare an EIS, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act, for approval of a plan of operations for the Resolution Copper Project and associated land exchange.
Publication of the NOI also started the 60-day public scoping period which, based on feedback from interested parties, was extended an additional 60 days by the Forest Supervisor, Tonto National Forest. The scoping comment period was from March 18 thru July 18, 2016, and included receipt of 133,396 responses.