Northern Dynasty Minerals (TSX:NDM, StockForum), a Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development firm currently operating the Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum mineral project, announced today that the company acknowledges the Environmental Protection Agency's (“EPA”) initiation of a process outlined in the Clean Water Act to investigate potential impacts on the aquatic habitat and fisheries associated with mine development in southwest Alaska.
According to the news release, “This EPA process, which is a continuation of the Bristol Bay Assessment study initiated in 2011, will include consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Pebble Limited Partnership ("Pebble Partnership" or "PLP"), the proponent of the Pebble Project.”
It went on to that the US federal agency reported, “Based on input EPA receives during any one of these steps, the agency could decide that further review under Section 404c (of the Clean Water Act) is not necessary.”
Northern Dynasty president and CEO, Ron Thiessen, commented, “For a wide range of reasons, we remain confident that final decisions about Pebble will be made by federal and state regulators working within the rigorous National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) permitting process, and not unilaterally and pre-emptively by EPA.”
He then added, “We will participate fully in EPA's process to consider necessary safeguards to ensure that responsible mineral development can co-exist with clean water and healthy fisheries in Bristol Bay, and we will continue our efforts to prepare for the NEPA permitting process to come.”
Thiessen went on to explain, “The US and Alaska have among the most stringent environmental laws for the protection of fish and water in the world, and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process under NEPA is the gold standard for ensuring that major project developments receive comprehensive, transparent and science-based assessment.”
Then he concluded, “Given that, along with the global significance of the Pebble deposit and the inherent, well-documented limitations of the Bristol Bay Assessment study, including those acknowledged by EPA itself, we continue to have every confidence that final decisions about Pebble will be made in the future following a comprehensive NEPA/EIS permitting process.”
Northern Dynasty Minerals was in the news recently when the company announced the resignation of a director.
Shares dropped 19.66% on the news to $0.94 per share.
Currently there are 95.0m outstanding shares with a market cap of $89.3 million.