Northern Dynasty: Alaska and 13 Other States Strongly Oppose the EPA Proposed Veto of Pebble

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 4, 2022 / Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX:NDM)(NYSE American:NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company" or "NDM") advises that a compelling letter was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") by the State of Alaska, and a second letter signed by a total of 14 states, was submitted protesting against the EPA's overreach with the revised Proposed Determination of the Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska.

The State of Alaska has submitted a strongly-worded letter to the EPA detailing its deep concerns about the EPA's actions, for reasons including:

"It diminishes the importance of resource development to Alaska and its people. It also disregards the State's ability to - and history of - ensuring protection of its own fishery resources through the State's permitting system…Ensuring Alaska's ability to develop its resources, was a key concern to the State and Congress during statehood negotiations…In the unlikely event of its validity, exercise of this veto would constitute a regulatory taking, for which compensation, in the billions, is due."

The entire letter can be viewed at the following link: https://www.regulations.gov/comment/EPA-R10-OW-2022-0418-0814

Fourteen states (Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming) submitted a letter in opposition to the EPA Region 10's proposed determination, calling it an unprecedented abuse of its perceived authority and warning about its implications for the future. The strongly-worded letter noted that,

"If finalized…it would impose a blanket prohibition on all future, similar mining projects over a 309-square-mile area, which is 23 times the size of the proposed project footprint and comprises lands owned by the State of Alaska. This veto sets a dangerous precedent…effectively creating a 404(c) wild card, playable at whim to stop projects. Such a power introduces profound uncertainty into the 404 permitting process and, by extension, the investment climate; and undermines steps taken by Congress and President Biden to lessen our Nation's mineral dependence on other countries, like China, in pursuit of a renewable energy economy of our own."