Some jurisdictional or cost/revenue timing mismatches would occur, resulting
in isolated fiscal
shortfalls. The local native American communities would likely experience
some adverse
sociocultural impacts. Production of wild rice on Rice Lake would not be
affected by the project.
The project could result in net proceeds taxes of up to $118 million and
corporate income taxes of up
to $101 million depending on metals prices. The project would not likely
result in a net substantial
adverse economic impact to the area.

No significant impacts are anticipated for the local or regional tourist
industry or outdoor recreation
activities associated with the Wolf River. Impacts from increased rail and
highway transportation
are predicted to be negligible due to the small increases in traffic.


ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT AND THEIR IMPACTS

Alternative sites were evaluated for all of the major project facilities.
About 35 different sites were
considered for the MWDF. Most of these sites are natural valleys and are
undesirable because of
adverse impacts to streams and wetlands. Several other sites were eliminated
from further
consideration due to highly permeable soils and shallow depth to groundwater.
The two most favored
locations are upland sites close to the mine with only minor environmental
differences. Of the two,
Exxon' s selected site would provide greater groundwater protection and reduced
soil borrow
requirements.

Alternative routes also were considered for facilities located within corridors.
Six corridors were
evaluated for the railroad spur. The proposed route would result in the least
environmental,
construction and operational problems. Twelve alternative access road routes
were considered.
Several routes would result in less environmental damage but would either
cause safety problems or
are on lands unavailable to Exxon.

Eight alternative routes were evaluated for the electrical transmission line
from Monico to the mine.
Although the proposed route is one of the longest, a high percentage of the
route is shared with
existing transmission lines or highway rights-of-way. As a result, the proposed
corridor would have
the least overall environmental impact and would have minimal impacts on
area residents.

A number of design and operational alternatives exist for the MWDF. Different
materials could be
used for the liner and cap. Natural clay, the customary liner material in
landfill design, is not locally
available and would require a large borrow area. Alternate materials for
synthetic membranes are
available but have less desirable longevity and chemical resistance characteristics
than the proposed
material. Leachate seepage could be reduced by alternate drain pipe spacing.
Thickened or dried
tailings disposal could be employed, but would offer no environmental advantages.
Pyrite could be
extracted from the tailings and disposed separately, but no environmental
or cost advantages would
be achieved. Pyrite could be processed and marketed. However, no sufficiently
profitable
process/marketing alternatives exist. The most profitable option would result
in substantial
additional environmental impacts.

An alternative surface water mitigation plan would provide for maximum reduction
of mine inflow
and maximum utilization of mine inflow for surface water mitigation. Several
of the dedicated wells
would not be installed. A pipe distribution system from the mine/mill area
would provide required
mitigation water. If an adequate amount of mitigation water were not available,
the discharge to
Swamp Creek would be significantly reduced. The discharge reduction would
likely require
installation of additional wastewater treatment capability in order to provide
water suitable for
mitigation.

Final use alternatives for the mill facilities include a range of industrial
uses. Use of the
underground mine as a radioactive waste disposal facility would not be feasible
because the bedrock
is too highly fractured and the mined out areas would be backfilled.