Documents

This scoping report was prepared by the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) to summarize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping process for the Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

One of the first steps in the preparation of an EIS is to understand the issues that should be considered while preparing the document. These issues will define the scope of both the alternatives that will be considered and the analysis that will need to be conducted. For this reason, the process of discovering these issues is called “Scoping” and is a process that involves asking the public, stakeholders, tribes, cooperating agencies, and Forest specialists to help identify the most important issues to be analyzed.

Public concern statements were developed by the TNF to present the full range of concerns expressed by the public and various agencies during the public scoping period for the Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange. Public concern statements are succinct statements that summarize the public’s viewpoint and rationale for concerns.

This document summarizes relevant issues for analysis that were identified during the scoping process for the project. The purpose of the scoping process is to provide agencies, members of the public, and members of the internal interdisciplinary (ID) team with an opportunity to provide input on the scope of the proposed project and analysis of relevant issues in the environmental impact statement.

This guide was developed to help citizens and organizations who are concerned about the environmental effects of federal decision-making to effectively participate in Federal agencies’ environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The Forest Service held workshops to 1) update the public on the status of the EIS process 2) describe the alternatives development process, and 3) solicit input on the criteria being used to evaluate alternative tailings storage facility locations.

The Forest Service is hosting workshops to solicit input on the relative importance of a variety of environmental and social criteria that they will use to evaluate alternative tailings facility locations. The Forest Service has scheduled in-person and online workshops.

Presentation slides from Alternative Development Public Workshop on March 22, 2017 in Gilbert, AZ.

The location for this alternative would enable use of cross-valley embankments/dams requiring less fill to retain tailings compared to a ring-like impoundment, simplifying construction and operations.

This alternative allows for a comparison of the impacts of slurry tailings if placed in a flatter, alluvial setting instead of an upland wash or canyon.