The Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP), a subsidiary of TSX-listed Northern Dynasty, is one step closer to completing the federal permitting process for its gold and copper mine in Alaska, after a US federal district court judge dismissed action brought by a collection of activist groups.

The ruling should pave the way for a final environmental impact statement (EIS) and record of decision (RoD) on the Pebble project by mid-2020, PLP CEO Tom Collier said in a statement on April 18.

Judge Sharon Gleason granted the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) “motion to dismiss” case brought by the activist groups, declaring that they had “failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted”.

The Bristol Bay Defense Alliance, comprising Bristol Bay Native Association, United Tribes of Bristol Bay and others, sued the EPA in October last year, for changing course on Obama-era restrictions that had halted development of the Pebble mine.

The litigation challenged the EPA's July 2019 decision to formally withdraw its prior regulatory action under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act (CWA),

Collier said the US legal system had reaffirmed the Pebble project's right to receive a fair and objective permitting review under the CWA and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

"For years, we have sought basic fairness for the Pebble project to be fully vetted under the regular permitting process and to block attempts to pre-empt that fundamental right.”

"We have long held that the pre-emptive veto against Pebble was poor public policy and that decisions about the merits of developing a mine at the Pebble prospect should be made through the legal, statutory process defined by NEPA. The pre-emptive veto was brought against the project by the Obama-era EPA before a single permit to develop had been filed with a regulatory agency. The current administration made the correct decision to withdraw the pre-emptive veto and allow the project to be reviewed via the legal, statutory process defined by NEPA and the CWA.”

While PLP believes that the project can be developed without harm to the Bristol Bay fishery and for the benefit of the region, groups opposing the project have expressed their disappointment and vowed to continue to fight the development of the mine.

The Bristol Bay Defense Alliance said in a statement that the ruling “did not change facts”.

“This ruling does nothing to change the scientific fact that Pebble mine cannot coexist with Bristol Bay fisheries. Removing the proposed protections was a short sighted decision and we cannot allow that to harm the fishery that has sustained Bristol Bay cultures and communities for thousands of years. We will never allow this mine to be built in our region,” said United Tribes of Bristol Bay executive director Alannah Hurley.

Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation CEO Norm Van Vactor added that communities and fishermen in the region had sustainably harvested salmon for more than a century. “The science is clear that to ensure this continues, we must protect the fishery from the disruption and devastation that Pebble would cause. We will do everything we can to ensure that there are many more seasons to come.”

The Pebble deposit is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold resource. The current resource estimate includes 6.5-billion tonnes in the measured and indicated categories containing 57-billion pounds of copper, 71-million ounces of gold, 3.4-billion pounds of molybdenum and 34-million ounces of silver. Palladium and rhenium also occur in the deposit.

Northern Dynasty’s stock advanced about 10% on Monday, trading at C$0.79 a share by 14:00.