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Northern Dynasty: Federal Permitting Process for Alaska's Pebble Project Passes Another Key Milestone
Lead federal regulator US Army Corps of Engineers announces preferred development alternativ...
About this update from Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"Northern Dynasty: Federal Permitting Process for Alaska’s Pebble Project Passes Another Key MilestoneLead federal regulator US Army Corps of Engineers announces preferred development alternativeVANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 25, 2020 / Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX:NDM)(NYSE American:NAK) (\"Northern Dynasty\" or the \"Company\") reports the US Army Corps of Engineers (\"USACE\"), the lead federal regulator for the Environmental Impact Statement (\"EIS\") permitting process for the Pebble Project, has announced a preferred development alternative for the proposed copper-gold-molybdenum-silver mine in southwest Alaska.During a media availability session on May 22, 2020, Alaska District Regulatory Division Chief David Hobbie confirmed the USACE has selected the ‘least environmentally damaging practicable alternative' or LEDPA for the proposed Pebble mine. It includes an all land-based transportation route to connect the proposed mine site to a port site on Cook Inlet via an ~85-mile road north of Lake Iliamna, thereby avoiding the need for ferry transport across the lake.Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron Thiessen said the ‘northern transportation corridor' - otherwise known and fully evaluated in the Pebble EIS as ‘Alternative 3' - has been extensively studied by the Company's 100%-owned US-based subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership (the \"Pebble Partnership\"), and presents several compelling benefits over the lake ferry options.\"From a cost perspective, the various transportation alternatives evaluated as part of the Pebble EIS over the past several years are similar,\" he said. \"We had thought the slightly smaller wetlands footprint associated with the lake ferry alternatives might make them preferable to the USACE and other regulatory agencies, but they clearly have judged an all land-based route to be superior from an environmental perspective.\"It's a decision we welcome and accept. There are clear operational benefits associated with a single mode transportation system versus multi-mode, and we're confident the northern corridor can be built and operated safely in partnership with local villages and landowners.\"Thiessen said the Pebble Partnership intends to work with each of the landowners along the northern corridor, and believes it will secure the authorizations needed to bu...