There are several significant facts
All are very good news for Elk Creek. I realize you do have states and a Federal government in Germany. However, I suspect the relationship between state and federal might he different in the US. If something is out of the jurisdiction of federal authorities, then the state government is solely in control and makes the final decisions. For the Federal government the two key agencies are the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA. With the water line to the river eliminated, the Army Corps is no longer involved. The EPA is involved and makes decisions on new sources of emissions that are projected to be above certain specified thresholds. All of tbe engineering done to date indicates they will be well UNDER these thresholds. The state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will confer with the EPA to be sure they are all in agreement. That is in progress NOW. It might take the EPA as long as the German government to issue a permit. But it should not take long for them to say this is not our concern. After that, it is soley up to Nebraska DEQ. If Elk Creek was in California the process might take longer than the EPA. But Nebraska is not California. Our state government is relatively small, fairly efficient (as governments go) and fairly professional. We have a governor who is very pro business. We have on our Niocorp team guys that did play this game in California. The state DEQ web site says that typically it takes 4-5 months to issue a permit. It also recommends that people that plan to apply should sit down with the DEQ ahead of time and make sure their application is compliant. Niocorp has done this.
Now- the really good news:
The Nebraska DEQ NORMALLY requires that most major construction not start until the permit is issued. But, there is an exception. The DEQ has a list of emissions and thresholds for each. If the projected emissions are all under these thresholds, the applicant can submit his application and request a varriance. If this is granted, major construction of permanent facilities can start before the final permit is issued. Niocorp has reviewed all the data with the DEQ, they have told the DEQ they expect to file in July, they have told the DEQ they belive their emissions are under the thresholds, and that they will be applying for a variance.
JMHO but to a potential financier, issuance of a varriance by the state is kind of a vote of confidence. The state is saying "we anticipate no problems with your permit, you can start work now." Some financiers might want to see the actual permit in hand. But the fact that the state says construction can start NOW may well be sufficient for a lot of them. And, of corse, some financiers may not be worried about permits.
Again JMHO, but I think Scott and his team have done an incredible job to get to this point. It may look like nothing is happening. Speaking as an Engineer who has dealt with emissions issues, it took A LOT of Engineering to get to this point. Submission of the application is a big step. Getting the varriance would be huge. I really doubt we would have ever heard of this varriance if Scott was not pretty darned confident it will happen.
