Mr. Ronald Thiessen reports

US CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE CALLS ON EPA ADMINISTRATOR TO WITHDRAW PEBBLE PROJECT VETO

The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology has called on the new administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rescind the federal agency's 2014 regulatory action under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to pre-emptively veto Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.'s Pebble project in Alaska.

A Feb. 22, 2017, letter to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt from committee chairman Lamar Smith states: "The committee recommends that the incoming administration rescind the EPA's proposed determination to use Section 404(c) in a pre-emptive fashion for the Pebble mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. This simple action will allow a return to the long-established Clean Water Act permitting process and stop attempts by the EPA to improperly expand its authority. Moreover, it will create regulatory certainty for future development projects that will create jobs and contribute to the American economy."

Since 2014, Northern Dynasty and its 100-per-cent-owned subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership have advanced a multiprong strategy, including litigation, Congressional outreach, independent investigations, among other initiatives, to encourage EPA to withdraw its unprecedented regulatory action against Pebble. The Congressional Science, Space and Technology Committee has held several Pebble-related hearings in recent years, finding that EPA actions concerning the mineral development project in southwest Alaska were based on "a questionable scientific assessment that relied on predetermined conclusions," and that "EPA employees colluded with Pebble mine opponents to stop the project."

The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology's letter to EPA administrator Mr. Pruitt can be read on-line.

Northern Dynasty president and chief executive officer Ron Thiessen said the committee's letter provides even greater impetus for EPA administrator Mr. Pruitt to take timely action to reverse what many see as one of the leading examples of EPA overreach, and return the Pebble project to normal course permitting and the rule of law.

"All we have ever asked is for the opportunity to propose a comprehensive development plan for the Pebble project, and to have it fairly and objectively reviewed against the extremely rigorous environmental standards and permitting requirements enforced in Alaska and the United States. Today, we are one step closer to earning that opportunity.

"We thank the committee and staff for its careful and consistent scrutiny of the troubling issues that have characterized the EPA's treatment of the Pebble project over the years, and its commitment to the well-established federal and state permitting process under the Clean Water Act and National Environmental Policy Act."

About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset is the Pebble project in southwest Alaska, United States, an initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources.

We seek Safe Harbor.