Northern Dynasty agrees to a 90-day pause in EPA lawsuit

New EPA leadership wants time to review the case

Northern Dynasty Minerals (NDM) said it has agreed to a 90-day abeyance in its legal suit against the U.S. EPA. Ron Thiessen, NDM President and CEO said that the pause would give the new administration “time to familiarize themselves with the issues presented in this case and to decide how they wish to proceed.”

The abeyance could signal that the new administration, led by President Trump appointee Lee Zeldin, will take a different approach to protections EPA had instituted in Bristol Bay.

Two years ago, the EPA used its authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to prohibit/restrict the use of certain waters in the Bristol Bay watershed as disposal sites for dredged fill or material associated with development of the Pebble deposit. In 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had denied a key 404 permit to Pebble developers, which they appealed. Both the USACE and EPA determinations effectively halted development of the proposed Pebble mine.

In its 2023 final determination, the EPA wrote “Development of a mine at the Pebble deposit has been the subject of study for more than two decades. This final determination is based on this extensive record of scientific and technical information and applies only to certain discharges of dredged or fill material associated with developing the Pebble deposit, not to any other resource development projects in the State of Alaska.”

However, Pebble developers are suing the federal government to try and get a reversal of the EPA’s final determination.