What’s going to happen if the Donlin Gold mine is green-lighted and historical sites become disrupted? That’s another part of the Donlin saga that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is deciding as the federal agency chooses whether or not to recommend permitting the project.
The Corps is drafting a legally binding document for Donlin to follow if the project gets the go-ahead. The document, called a programmatic agreement, describes how Donlin will treat known and yet-to-be-discovered historical sites it encounters during the large mining project's development. The Corps plans to release a draft of the document in early 2017 and then collect comments from federal, state, tribal, and municipal groups before issuing a final agreement.
The Corps held a meeting in Bethel on Monday to talk about this agreement with groups who weren’t able to attend a similar meeting in Anchorage last month.
Only three of the 14 groups invited attended the Bethel event: AVCP Inc., the City of Georgetown, and Kwethluk Inc. None raised public concerns during the gathering.
Richard Darden is the Donlin Project Manager for the Corps and led the discussion. He says for those who couldn't attend the meeting, there's still time to get involved.
“The folks who weren’t able to come today can still participate in the remainder of the process very effectively," he said, "because we’ll provide comprehensive information when we distribute materials and a draft programmatic agreement. And we can be in touch with those folks on a more individual basis between now and then.”
Since 2004, 70 historical sites have been discovered at the project sites, which include the mining area, pipeline corridor, and transportation points like runways, ports, and roads. The sites range from artifact clusters to cabins to caves.
