Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd (NAK)

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What led to EPA's current proposal to withdraw proposed restrictions on hard-rock mining in Bristol Bay?


EPA began a study of the Bristol Bay Watershed in 2011, after receiving a request to get involved from several Alaska Native tribes.

After publishing the final watershed assessment in 2014, the agency decided restrictions were needed to protect the waters from adverse effects of hard-rock mining. It began a controversial process under the Clean Water Act Section 404(c) and published a "Proposed Determination" detailing the restrictions.

The Proposed Determination received 671,517 public comments, which the EPA was sifting through, when...

Pebble mine developers brought multiple suits against the EPA, and a federal judge forced it to stop working on the 404(c) process until those could be resolved. Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) and Northern Dynasty Minerals (NDM) argued that the EPA was unfairly pre-empting the possibility for PLP to develop a world-class copper and gold deposit.

Donald Trump wins the 2016 election, creating an administration keen to rein in what many saw as an overreach by the EPA.

In May 2017, EPA and the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) agreed on settlement terms, which included that the EPA “initiate a process to propose to withdraw the Proposed Determination.”
While developers also argued that the EPA's 3-year Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment is flawed, the EPA retained the right to use the study "without limitation."

Today: The EPA is seeking public comment on its proposal. It has received around 6,700 comments so far.

The 90-day comment period ends on October 17, 2017.