ARLIS Document Server

Ambler Road Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

Authoring agencies: Prepared by: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.

In cooperation with: Alatna Village Council, Evansville Tribal Council, Huslia Tribal Council, State of Alaska, Tanana Tribal Council, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Participating agency: National Park Service.

Publication: [Anchorage, Alaska] : U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, [Alaska State Office], [2023]

"October 2023."

Physical description of original: 4 volumes : color illustrations, color maps ; 28 cm.

Report numbers: DOI-BLM-AK-F030-2016-0008-EIS -- BLM/AK/PL-19/013+1610+F000

Note on updated information in the volumes: To assist readers in identifying new information in this 2023 Draft Supplemental EIS, new or substantially revised text and graphics are highlighted in yellow. (Substantial revisions include changes to the text or underlying data that have changed the analysis or analysis conclusion.) An asterisk (*) is added at the end of each section heading, table title, or figure caption to indicate new additions or substantial or significant revisions.

Supplement to: Ambler Road, Final Environmental Impact Statement -- March 2020.

Revised as: Ambler Road Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement -- April 2024.

Summary: Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), a public corporation of the State of Alaska, requests permission to construct, operate, and maintain, an all-season 211-mile industrial access road to the Ambler Mining District in support of mining exploration and development. After its estimated fifty-year lifespan (or after mineral development has ended), the road would be removed and facilities reclaimed. For this purpose, AIDEA submitted a right-of-way application in November 2015, which was supplemented in June 2016.
In March 2020, the Bureau of Land Management prepared Ambler Road, Final Environmental Impact Statement, which was followed by a Joint Record of Decision in July of that year. This Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), crafted in response to a May 2022 court remand, substantially revises the analysis of water resources, air quality, climate, vegetation, wetlands, fish, aquatics, birds, mammals, transportation and access, environmental justice, subsistence, and cultural resources.

You can also consult the following related websites for related documents and more information about the Ambler Road project:

The Draft EIS on the ARLIS website. The public comments to the Draft EIS along with BLM's responses are available in Excel spreadsheet format at the bottom of that webpage.

The Final EIS -- March 2020. -- This is the document supplemented by the report described here.

The Joint Record of Decision -- July 2020.

BLM's ePlanning website for the Ambler Road Project including the final and draft versions of the EIS and the record of decision (with various download optional for the draft by volume and by subsections (as an alternative way to view the documentation) as well as a lot of related documentation (application materials, meeting notes, scoping documents, etc.).

VOLUME	SECTION	SIZE
Volume 1	Executive Summary ; Chapters 1-3 ; and Appendices A-F Table of contents Acronyms and abbreviations Executive summary Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Alternatives Chapter 3. Affected environment and environmental consequences Appendix A. Figures Appendix B. Chapter 1 introduction tables and supplemental information Appendix C. Chapter 2 alternatives tables and supplemental information Appendix D. Chapter 3 physical environment tables and supplemental information Includes report in Attachment A: Predictive Noise Modeling of the Ambler Road Presenting Acoustic Models of Potential Noise from Vehicle Traffic Alternatives on the Ambler Road Using Cadna-A Noise Prediction Software. Appendix E. Chapter 3 biological resources tables and supplemental information Appendix F. Chapter 3 social systems tables and supplemental information	7 MB
Volume 2	Appendices G-K Appendix G. Alternatives development memorandum Appendix H. Indirect and cumulative scenarios Appendix I. Preparers, consultation and collaboration Appendix J. Section 106 programmatic agreement Formal title of this document: Programmatic agreement by and among the Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Historic Preservation Officer, and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Regarding the Ambler Mining District Industrial Access Road, Alaska : Executed the 27th of April, 2020, Expires 2045. Appendix K. Ambler Road SEIS scoping summary report Formal title of this document: Ambler Road Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Final Scoping Summary Report.	20 MB
Volume 3	Appendices L-P Appendix L. Subsistence technical report Appendix M. ANILCA Section 810 evaluation Appendix N. Potential mitigation Appendix O. References Appendix P. Glossary	19 MB
Volume 4	Maps for Chapters 1-3	36 MB