Northern Dynasty: EPA initiates process to withdraw its Proposed Determination
Northern Dynasty: EPA initiates process to withdraw its Proposed Determination
July 11, 2017 V ancouver. BC –- Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK)
("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") reports that the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has
begun a process to withdraw a Proposed Determination it issued under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) in 2014
that would have restricted development of the Pebble Project in southwest Alaska (see
https://www.epa.gov/bristolbay).
On May 12, 2017, EPA and Northern Dynasty’s wholly -owned subsidiary, Alaska -based Pebble Limited
Partnership ("Pebble Partnership" or "PLP"), reached a settlement agreement that allows the Pebble Project to
proceed into normal course permitting under the CWA and National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). The
federal agency’s proposal to formally withdraw its Proposed Determination further clarifies PLP’s right to
proceed into normal course permitting unencumbered by any extraordinary development restrictions , and
complies with EPA’s legal obligations under the settlement agreement.
“The current administration at EPA is closely focused on enforcing environmental standards and permitting
requirements for major development projects like Pebble in a way that is both rigorous and robust, but also
consistent in order to provide predictability and an even-playing field for all resource developers,” said Pebble
Partnership CEO Tom Collier. “It’s an approach all Alaskans and all Americans should support, because it has
the benefit of maintaining the high standards for environmental protection for which the state and country are
known, while attracting investment in projects that create high -wage jobs and other much -needed economic
benefits in our country.”
Collier said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has stated he does not support the unprecedented pre-emptive veto
that his predecessor initiated at Pebble in July 2014. However, Pruitt also made clear his staff will follow the
necessary steps to properly assess and withdraw the Proposed Determination – an administrative process that
has now begun.
“Due process and open, transparent decision-making matters to this administration,” Collier said. “And that is
something we both accept and respect.”
Collier expressed confidence that EPA will withdraw its Proposed Determination at the conclusion of the
administrative process initiated today. The US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology urged
Administrator Pruitt to take such action back in February 2017, stating that EPA actions at Pebble were based
on “a questionable scientific assessment that relied on pre- determined conclusions,” and that EPA officials
“acted with bias and predetermined conclusions aimed to prevent this project and improperly expand EPA’s
authority under the Clean Water Act.”
Under the terms of its settlement with Pebble, EPA has agreed it will not file a Recommended Determination
under CWA Section 404(c) until a final Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for the Pebble Project has
been completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) – so long as that occurs within a period of
four years following the May 2017 settlement, and PLP applies for permits with 30 months of the settlement
date. In return for these commitments, PLP agreed to terminate two lawsuits it brought against EPA under the
Federal Advisory Committee Act and Freedom of Information Act.
Northern Dynasty is now focused on qualifying a nd securing a new major funding partner for the Pebble
Project, while the Pebble Partnership is advancing plans to initiate federal and state permitting with a smaller,
environmentally-optimized project design. B oth major project milestones – re-partnering and initiating
permitting under the CWA and NEPA – are expected to be achieved in the near term.
“We believe the project design we are preparing to advance into permitting, as well as the social and
stakeholder programs and commitments we are building around our project, will address many of the priorities
and concerns we have heard from stakeholders in Alaska,” said Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron
Thiessen. “We have every confidence that a permitting process led by the Corps will be objective and science-
based, and provide us an opportunity to demonstrate that Pebble is a project of merit that will provide very
substantial benefits to the people and communities of southwest Alaska, the state and nation as a whole.”
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 US subsidiary Pebble Limited
Partnership and other wholly- owned subsidiaries, is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral
claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. The Pebble Partnership 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 we bsite 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
Canadian Media Contact:
Ian Hamilton
DFH Public Affairs
(416) 206-0118 x.222
US Media Contact:
Dan Gagnier
Gagnier Communications
(646) 569-5897
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 an d
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 o r underground mining and processing
facilities as well as receipt of significant additional financing to fund these objectives as well as funding mine constructi on. 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 complian ce with
extensive environmental and socio -economic rules and practices and the requir ement 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 mor e information on the Company, Investors should
review the Company's filing s with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are
available at www.sedar.com.