Inspector General Will Investigate EPA Conduct in Preparing Bristol Bay Assessment
May 08, 2014
Northern Dynasty has submitted three letters to the EPA Inspector General since January 2014 raising serious issues of bias, process irregularities and collusion with environmental organizations in the federal agency's preparation of the Bristol Bay Assessment. Tuesday, in response to congressional and other requests, the Inspector General's office announced its plans to "begin preliminary research to determine whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adhered to laws, regulations, policies and procedures in developing its assessment of potential mining impacts in Bristol Bay, Alaska." "While the documents we've received to date through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are sparse and heavily redacted, they paint the picture of an agency launching a 'watershed assessment' to justify a pre-determined outcome," said Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron Thiessen. "We are thankful that the IG's office has initiated this action, and hopeful that EPA's failure to conduct an objective, transparent and defensible scientific investigation will ultimately come to light." Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Limited Partnership ("Pebble Partnership" or "PLP") have called on EPA to suspend the regulatory process under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act that it initiated on February 28, 2014. Despite the absence of a proposed development plan, EPA is threatening to take pre-emptive action to either veto or restrict development at Pebble - citing the Assessment as the principal evidentiary basis for its actions. Northern Dynasty, the Pebble Partnership and the State of Alaska have encouraged EPA to wait for the submission of a proposed development plan for the Pebble Project and to participate in the federal and state permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), including the preparation of a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), before taking any regulatory action. "Not only does EPA not have the statutory authority to undertake pre-emptive action at Pebble, they are threatening to do so based on a flawed study that is now the subject of an investigation by their own agency," Thiessen said. "There is absolutely no reason for EPA to press on with its pre-emptive regulatory process for Pebble when, by its own admission, an EIS process under NEPA will provide a more comprehensive, definitive and robust assessment of the true effects of mineral development in southwest Alaska." The Pebble Project is an initiative of the Pebble Partnership to develop a globally significant copper, gold and molybdenum deposit in southwest Alaska into a modern, long-life mine. A 2013 study authored by IHS Global Insight, entitled The Economic and Employment Contributions of a Conceptual Pebble Mine to the Alaska and United States Economies found the Pebble Project has the potential to support 15,000 American jobs and contribute more than $2.5 billion annually to US GDP over decades of production. The Pebble Project is located 200 miles southwest of Anchorage on state land designated for mineral exploration and development. It is situated in a region of rolling tundra approximately 1,000 feet above sea-level, 65 miles from tidewater on Cook Inlet and presents favourable conditions for successful mine site and infrastructure development.
On the Web: The IHS Global Insight study is available at www.northerndynasty.com
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