The Caldwell Canyon Mine and Reclamation Plan (MRP) project was approved in a 2019 Record of Decision (ROD) following preparation of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Since that approval in 2019 and continuing through May 2023, P4 Production, LLC. (P4 Production) developed and constructed various components of the original project including a service road, haul roads, various utility lines, loadout facilities, and earthwork to prepare for ore recovery.

In June 2023, as a result of legal action challenging the BLM's decision and analysis, the FEIS, ROD, and all other BLM decisions relying on the FEIS and ROD were vacated by the United States District Court for the District of Idaho (Case No. 4:21-cv-00182-BLW). As a result of this vacatur, P4 Production submitted a Revised Mine and Reclamation Plan (RMRP) for the Caldwell Canyon Project (Project) to the BLM on September 29, 2023, and a revised RMRP on January 11, 2024 (P4 Production 2024a).

Before the BLM approves the RMRP and modifies the leases, it must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended by analyzing the potential environmental impacts of the proposed mining and reclamation operations along with reasonable alternatives. As the Project is likely to have significant impacts, an environmental impact statement (EIS) is the appropriate document for this review.

The BLM is the lead agency for this EIS. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), and the Idaho Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources are cooperating agencies.

This project is posted in the interest of transparency and response to Executive Order 14241.