RE: 4Seas The matter here is that even if Eric is a pro and even if skullduggery was involved, at somepoint sooner than last Friday (!), senior mgmt should have awoken to the fact that a deadline was either not being met, or nowhere near being met.
In the last MDA, in July I recall, specific mention was made of the permit process. Now, Govt processes may be obscure, but they are not deliberately 'hidden' from view.
There must have been a point where snr mgmt would have said to Eric (the experienced professional) , "So how long will this take?" (in a similar manner to which you would ask your mechanic or the sears delivery guys ), and received a reply which hopefully included a date sometime this century, and more likely late last year. Once said date arrived, the question should have been asked again. At which point, more attention should have been paid (just as you would, if it was 4pm and you'd been promised your car for 2.30pm).
The point of the above rant being that if they weren't paying attn to that 'situation', what else have they missed? 'Nothing' is my most fervant hope..