A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from taking action against a massive copper-gold mine project in Alaska proposed by the Pebble Limited Partnership, parent company Northern Dynasty Minerals (TSX:NDM) (NYSE:MKT) said Tuesday.
“Although the decision is a procedural victory and does not resolve our claims that EPA pursued a biased and predetermined 404c veto initiative against Pebble by not complying with the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (“FACA”), the decision is important for several reasons,” Tom Collier, CEO of the Pebble Partnership said in the statement.
The mine proponents complained EPA used “de facto advisory committees that worked behind the scenes, and out of the public eye,” which resulted in “biased, junk science.”
The Pebble Partnership insists that if built, the mine would create thousands of jobs and provide an economic base for an economically depressed region that would last for decades.
Court proceedings are expected to resume early next year.
