VANCOUVER, Jan. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Northern
Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty"
or the "Company") reports that the US Environmental Protection
Agency ("EPA") Inspector General released its report on EPA
misconduct with respect to the Pebble Project today, only gently
admonishing the federal agency.
Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron
Thiessen expressed disappointment at the narrow scope and
limited findings of the Inspector General's report. With litigation
against EPA pending, a preliminary injunction in place, and several
US Congressional committees pursuing investigations into EPA
misconduct, Thiessen expressed confidence that the Pebble Limited
Partnership's ("Pebble Partnership" or "PLP") standoff with EPA
will be resolved this year, leaving PLP free to initiate federal
and state permitting unencumbered by any extraordinary development
restrictions.
The Pebble Partnership released the following statement to media
today:
"Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) CEO Tom Collier expressed disappointment at the
release of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector
General's (IG) report today, stating the federal agency continues
to minimize the seriousness of its own misconduct with respect to
the Pebble Project, while sweeping under the rug the complicity of
it most senior officials. Collier called upon Congress to continue
its oversight of the agency's actions.
"'The EPA Inspector General's report is an embarrassing failure
on its part to understand what several congressional committees, an
independent federal judge in Alaska, and an independent review by a former
Senator and cabinet secretary have already found – that EPA acted
improperly with regard to Pebble and was biased in its actions,'
said Collier. 'We expect Congress will continue its
investigation into the breadth of misconduct we have uncovered
through the limited information that has been made publicly
available.'
"Collier said Pebble has long been concerned that the Inspector
General could 'whitewash' its investigation into EPA's behavior
with respect to the Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment and subsequent
action to veto Pebble under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act.
In anticipation of this outcome, PLP retained former US Senator and
Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen – a respected public figure
with a national reputation for integrity in government – to conduct
a private investigation into EPA's actions last year.
"'Based on a limited number of documents received through FOIA
(Freedom of Information Act), we were able to place in front of the
IG incontrovertible evidence that EPA had reached final decisions
about Pebble before undertaking any scientific inquiry, that it had
inappropriately colluded with environmental activists, that it had
manipulated the scientific process and lied about its intentions
and actions both to us and to US Congress. Just as importantly, our
record shows that these abuses reach to the highest offices within
the agency,' Collier said.
"Collier further noted that the IG only reviewed three
employees' emails, issued only one subpoena (to an attorney, which
was not complied with) and has glossed over important portions of
the record. For example, in stating EPA complied with peer review
guidelines, the IG omits any acknowledgment or critique of the peer
review of the 2nd Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment
report, which clearly did not comply with agency Peer Review
guidelines.
"'After an analysis of thousands of documents and discussions
with more than 60 stakeholders, I conclude that EPA's actions were
not fair to all stakeholders,' Cohen wrote in his October 2015 Report of An Independent Review
of The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Actions in
Connection With Its Evaluation of Potential Mining In Alaska's
Bristol Bay Watershed. 'The statements and actions of EPA
personnel…raise serious concerns as to whether EPA orchestrated the
process to reach a pre-determined outcome.'
"Cohen concluded that EPA was wrong to undermine long-standing
federal regulatory and permitting processes in seeking to veto
Pebble before a project had been proposed or permits applied for.
He also called the conduct of EPA officials into question, stating
'…if I were responsible for leading this agency, and I speak from
experience having been a Secretary of Defense, these issues would
cause me to ask questions about the integrity of the process used
here.'
"That the Inspector General has not investigated EPA's actions
at Pebble as deeply as Secretary Cohen recommended does not
represent a final judgment in the matter.
"A lawsuit brought by Pebble in US federal court charges EPA
with violating the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by
inappropriately colluding with environmental activists in its
scientific review and regulatory action against Pebble. PLP won a
preliminary injunction in the FACA case last year, a judgment that
reflects the federal court's view that it has a 'likelihood of
success on the merits' of its case, and is now preparing for
trial.
"In addition, a series of US Congressional committees –
including House Science, Space & Technology and House Oversight
& Government Reform – continue to investigate EPA actions at
Pebble, with additional committee hearings expected in the months
ahead. Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith issued a statement on the IG report
today, citing its tendency to 'draw misleading conclusions without
having all the facts.'
"'We are by no means through making our case that EPA acted
inappropriately and perhaps illegally with respect to Alaska's Pebble Project,' Collier said. 'We
will have the opportunity to depose as many as 35 senior EPA
officials, insiders and others in the environmental community as
part of our FACA discovery, and we continue to gain new information
and fresh insights through the investigative efforts of Congress.
This issue is just too important to be swept under the rug – not
only for us and for the State of
Alaska, but for the integrity of objective, science-based
decision making in this country.'"
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 initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral
resources.
For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project,
please visit the Company's website at www.northerndynasty.com or
contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114. Review
Canadian public filings at www.sedar.com and US public filings at
www.sec.gov.
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 or the
outcome of litigation. 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, approvals, licenses and title on a timely
basis and delays due to third party opposition, changes in
government policies regarding mining and natural resource
exploration and exploitation, the final outcome of any litigation,
completion of pre-feasibility and final feasibility studies,
preparation of all necessary engineering for surface or underground
mining 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 filings 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.