BBDF Release: Bristol Bay Defense Fund Responds to Northern Dynasty Minerals Settlement of Lawsuit for Grossly Misleading Pebble Mine Investors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Date: June 12, 2023 

Press Contact: Grace Nolan, grace@team-arc.com

Bristol Bay Defense Fund Responds to Northern Dynasty Minerals Settlement of Lawsuit for Grossly Misleading Pebble Mine Investors

(Dillingham, Alaska) — This week, Northern Dynasty Minerals—the company behind the recently vetoed Pebble Mine—agreed to pay nearly $6.4 million to a group of investors who claimed they were misled about the size and scope of the proposed mining project in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

In response, the Bristol Bay Defense Fund issued the following statement:

“This settlement demonstrates yet again how untrustworthy Northern Dynasty Minerals is and always will be. Not only did they mislead investors, they lied to the people of Bristol Bay, and since they aren’t using any corporate funds for this settlement, the Biden administration should order them to remediate the parts of the watershed they damaged and left behind polluted for the community to clean up. Northern Dynasty acted without any regard for the Tribes, commercial and sport fishers, or members of the Bristol Bay community who would be the most gravely impacted by their reckless and devious mining proposal. Our elected officials must recognize the duplicity of Northern Dynasty and the recklessness of their project, and pass watershed-wide protections to protect all of Bristol Bay, our salmon and our way of life, forever.”  

This settlement strongly indicates that Northern Dynasty Minerals was not telling the truth about the size and duration of the proposed project in their permitting mine plan, which resulted in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducting an environmental review of a mine one-tenth the size of the project the company actually intended to build and operate. 

Additional Information: 

Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued 404(c) Clean Water Act protections that vetoed the Pebble Mine due to the adverse risks posed to Bristol Bay’s waters and the surrounding ecosystem. 

To address the remaining threats in the fight to protect Bristol Bay, the Bristol Bay Defense Fund just launched our new campaign, “Bristol Bay Forever,” in an effort to secure permanent protections for the entire Bristol Bay watershed, and nothing less. 

The Bristol Bay Defense Fund is a broad coalition of local, state and national groups representing Bristol Bay Tribes, commercial fishermen, businesses, and conservation nonprofit organizations including the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay, Businesses for Bristol Bay, SalmonState, Wild Salmon Center, Native American Rights Fund, and Natural Resources Defense Council.