Thanks for contacting them and reporting your findings.
This is interesting, but as I said before, these guys in the Corps and the EPA are just paper pushers. They don't even have to be very bright or know what they are doing.
They write reports and attend meetings/conferences in different locations to make it appear they are busy making hard decisions, but they do not have the final say.
I've worked in this arena and created a lot of friends and enemies in turf fights over matters of technology and regulations. I used to write how things would be accomplished and why. I usually had to discredit or educated government people who lacked technical knowledge, understanding of processes, and knowledge of regulations. It was often my responsibility to ensure that the real approving authority's requirements were satisfied.
It was often my job to ensure these requirements were met. My contract and paycheck depended on retaining the approving authority's or commanding officer's confidence in me.
I've been there and I have multiple T-shirts to prove it.
This is all political and out of the hands of the ACOE and the EPA. They will just sign the papers and answer questions at the press conferences.
Guys like me often delayed a decision a conclusion until issues behind the scene were resolved or a special technology had been tested and was available. For me that was almost always a technical issue, but sometimes it had to do with some political event over which I had no control, like someone's appointment to a news position or the removal/retirement of someone else.
The release of the mine's approval could be triggered by some political event, such as Mr B stepping down or being forced to step down, or someone new being appointed or stepping forward and demanding that the Pebble mine be approved for national security.
This would be a news worthy event and a "stepping stone" for that person to enter a new phase/chapter in their political life.
Keep an eye on the horizon and this person will step out of the shadows and take credit for taking a stand to strengthen national security and our independence from oil and natural gas.
Its all political, but the Pebble Mine will be approved. It is too valuable to be discarded at this time.
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