VANCOUVER, June 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE American: NAK)
("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") reports the US Environmental
Protection Agency ("EPA") has announced it will re-start the
process to withdraw a Proposed Determination initiated by the Obama
Administration in 2014 under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water
Act ("CWA") in an unprecedented attempt to pre-emptively
veto southwest Alaska's Pebble Project before it received an
objective, scientific regulatory review under the National
Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA").
In May 2017, Northern Dynasty's
100%-owned US subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership ("Pebble
Partnership" or "PLP") entered into a settlement agreement with EPA
that allowed the Pebble Project to proceed into normal course
permitting under the CWA and NEPA. EPA further agreed to initiate a
process to propose to withdraw its Proposed Determination, a
process that was subsequently suspended by former EPA Administrator
Scott Pruitt in January 2018.
Pebble Partnership CEO Tom
Collier said the pre-emptive regulatory action initiated by
the Obama-era EPA in 2014 represents a dangerous precedent and poor
public policy that threatens investment in responsible resource
development throughout the United
States.
"The idea that development projects can be vetoed before they
are even proposed or a comprehensive, permitting process has been
undertaken is one that should not take root in this country,"
Collier said. "It is wholly inconsistent with the rule of law and a
serious deterrent to resource investment and industrial
development, and it is for those reasons that we expect the
Proposed Determination to be withdrawn by this Administration."
Meanwhile, the Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") and
federal permitting process for Pebble under NEPA being led by the
US Army Corps of Engineers (the "Corps") continues to advance. The
Corps has published a timeline at
www.pebbleprojecteis.com that indicates it expects to finalize
the Pebble Project EIS in early 2020 and issue a final Record of
Decision by the middle of next year.
"We have every confidence that the Pebble Project as proposed
will meet the rigorous environmental standards enforced in
Alaska and the US, and that the
EIS permitting process now underway will demonstrate that
compliance through an open, objective, transparent and
science-driven review," Collier said.
About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
Northern Dynasty
is a mineral exploration and development company based in
Vancouver, Canada. Northern
Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly owned
Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary,
Pebble Limited Partnership ("PLP"), is a 100% interest in a
contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. PLP is
the proponent of the Pebble Project, 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.northerndynastyminerals.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.
The National Environment Policy Act EIS process requires a
comprehensive "alternatives assessment" be undertaken to consider a
broad range of development alternatives, the final project design
and operating parameters for the Pebble Project and associated
infrastructure may vary significantly from that currently being
advanced. As a result, the Company will continue to consider
various development options and no final project design has been
selected at this time.
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
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SOURCE Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.