VANCOUVER,
May 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Northern Dynasty
Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the
"Company") announces that the Pebble Limited Partnership ("Pebble
Partnership" or "PLP") has filed suit in U.S. District Court for
Alaska to halt a regulatory
process initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
("EPA") under the Clean Water Act ("CWA"). PLP's complaint asserts
that, in the absence of a permit application, EPA's Section 404(c)
regulatory process initiated on February 28,
2014 exceeds the federal agency's authority under the CWA,
and violates the Alaska Statehood Act among other federal laws.
"While Congress provided EPA a legitimate and
important role in assessing CWA 404 permits, it is clear that the
US Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE") is the lead federal agency for
such permits and that the State of
Alaska also has a central regulatory role to play," said
Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron
Thiessen. "EPA's unilateral process to pre-judge Pebble
before a project is proposed or permits are sought not only
undermines the legitimate authority of the USACE and the State, it
would also establish a damaging precedent that will have
significant long-term effects on business investment in
Alaska and throughout the United States."
PLP's complaint explains that, while EPA has
authority under the CWA to veto Section 404 'dredge or fill'
permits issued by USACE if it determines the permitted activity
poses an unacceptable risk of adverse effects to aquatic resources,
it must do so based on an actual permit specifying both a specific
disposal site and specific fill material. The CWA does not provide
EPA the power to pro-actively veto potential uses of State land in
the absence of a permit application or approval, noting the U.S.
Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that, "regulation of
land use, as through the issuance of development permits…is a
quintessential state and local power."
PLP also explains that EPA's regulatory process
is contrary to the Alaska Statehood Act and other federal
legislation by which the Pebble lands were granted to the state,
stating that "A veto would be an unlawful revocation of
Alaska's statutory right to select
and develop minerals on these lands."
The Pebble Partnership, the State of Alaska, as well as Alaska business and Native groups, have called
on EPA to stand down from its unprecedented, unilateral and
pre-emptive regulatory process, to wait for PLP to submit a
development proposal for Pebble and for the USACE to undertake an
Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") review process under the
National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"). The EPA would retain
its statutory authority to participate fully in the NEPA process to
come and as no development can be commenced without the requisite
permits, no environmental harm can occur during the NEPA
process.
"Thus far, EPA has refused our and others'
repeated requests to allow Pebble to be reviewed via an objective,
exhaustive, transparent and inclusive EIS process under NEPA,"
Thiessen said. "At this point, we feel we have little choice but to
petition the federal court to issue an injunction to halt a
regulatory process we believe is contrary to law."
About the Pebble Project
The Pebble Project is an initiative of the
Pebble Partnership to responsibly develop a globally significant
copper, gold and molybdenum deposit in southwest Alaska into a modern, long-life mine, which
will benefit not only the owner, but the people, culture and
industries of the State of Alaska,
as well as suppliers, consultants and industries in the Lower 48
United States of America.
A 2013 study authored by IHS Global Insight,
entitled The Economic and Employment Contributions of a
Conceptual Pebble Mine to the Alaska and United States Economies found
the Pebble Project has the potential to support 15,000 American
jobs and contribute more than $2.5
billion annually to US GDP over decades of production. The
IHS Global Insight study is available at
www.northerndynasty.com.
The Pebble Project is located 200 miles
southwest of Anchorage on state land designated for mineral
exploration and development. It is situated in a region of rolling
tundra approximately 1,000 feet above sea-level, 65 miles from
tidewater on Cook Inlet and presents favourable conditions for
successful mine site and infrastructure development.
About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and
development company based in Vancouver,
Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset is the Pebble
Project in southwest Alaska, USA,
an advanced-stage initiative to develop one of the world's most
important mineral resources.
Ronald W.
Thiessen
President & CEO
Forward Looking Information and other
Cautionary Factors
This release includes certain statements that
may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this
release, other than statements of historical facts, that address
exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or
developments that the Company expects are forward-looking
statements. Although the Company believes the expectations
expressed in its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as
guarantees of the ultimate size, quality or commercial feasibility
of the Pebble Project or of the Company's future performance.
Assumptions used by the Company to develop forward-looking
statements include the following: the Pebble Project will obtain
all required environmental and other permits and all land use and
other licenses, studies and development of the Pebble Project will
continue to be positive, and no geological or technical problems
will occur. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble
Project is subject to a large number of risks and will require
achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal
objectives, including obtaining necessary mining and construction
permits, completion of pre-feasibility and final feasibility
studies, preparation of all necessary engineering for underground
workings and processing facilities as well as receipt of
significant additional financing to fund these objectives as well
as funding mine construction. Such funding may not be available to
the Company on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. There is no
known ore at the Pebble Project and there is no assurance that the
mineralization at the Pebble Project will ever be classified as
ore. The need for compliance with extensive environmental and
socio-economic rules and practices and the requirement for the
Company to obtain government permitting can cause a delay or even
abandonment of a mineral project. The Company is also subject to
the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as
general economic and business conditions. For more information on
the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F
filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at
www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.