Pebble Partnership files appeal on Corps decision
Permit was denied in November under Clean Water Act The Pebble Partnership recently filed a Request for Appeal of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Record of Decision on the Pebble Project. The Request for Appeal was sub- mitted to the Army Corps Division Engineer. The USACE published a final Envi - ronmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for the proposed copper-gold-mo- lybdenum-silver-rhenium mine in July 2020, finding that Pebble would “not have measurable effects” on fish populations or fisheries in southwest Alaska. Despite this, the lead federal regulator published a ROD on Nov. 25, 2020, denying Peb - ble a key permit under the Clean Wa - ter Act on the grounds that its ‘com - pensatory mitigation plan’ (“CMP”) is non-compliant and the project is not in the ‘public interest.’ The Pebble Partnership submit- ted its RFA to the USACE’s Pacific Ocean Division Engineer in Hawaii this week, in advance of the 60-day deadline following the permitting decision. The USACE has 30 days from receipt to notify the Pebble Partner- ship as to whether its RFA is com- plete. USACE guidelines indicate the administrative appeal process should conclude within 90 days, although it may be extended under certain cir - cumstances. PLP CEO John Shively had the fol - lowing statement about the RFA: “Following the decision by the USACE to issue a negative ROD for the Pebble Project, our team did a comprehensive review of the USACE documentation supporting their po- sition. One thing became abundantly clear to us and that is the conclusions reached in the ROD are not supported by the record established in the Fi- nal Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the project.
Photo Courtesy Pebble Limited Partnership
“The ROD also made it clear that the negative decision was rushed. The USACE rejected our Compensato - ry Mitigation Plan (CMP) a mere five days after it was received and with- out giving us an opportunity to ad- dress any of the issues listed, which showed that it was never given fair consideration. Additionally, there were several federal and state docu- ments that were not complete before the ROD was issued. “The ROD abandoned decades of precedent in how wetlands and re- source projects in Alaska should be managed and regulated. We believe we have presented a strong case in our appeal and look forward the next steps in advancing this import - ant mineral asset. Pebble contains a world-class resource that belongs to the people of Alaska and could bring much needed employment and eco- nomic activity for the region and the state. The FEIS found that the project can be developed without damage to the Bristol Bay fishery, a finding that was mostly ignored in the decision to deny Pebble a permit.” In a news release, Northern Dy- nasty said it believes that key aspects of the USACE’s ROD and permitting decision – including its ‘significant
degradation’ finding, its ‘public in - terest review’ findings and its per - functory rejection of Pebble’s CMP – are contrary to law, unprecedented in Alaska and fundamentally unsup- ported by the administrative record, including the Pebble Project EIS. Additional details about the Pebble Partnership’s RFA submission will be released in the days and weeks ahead. Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development com - pany based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty’s principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership (“PLP”), is a 100 percent interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble depos- it, located 200 miles from Anchorage and 125 miles from Bristol Bay. PLP is the proponent of the Pebble Proj- ect, an initiative to develop one of the world’s most important mineral re - sources. For further details on North- ern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, please visit the Company’s website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at 604- 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114.
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The Alaska Miner
Winter 2021
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