VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian project developer Northern Dynasty Minerals has reached a settlement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowing the company to proceed with proposing a development plan and seeking an environmental impact statement (EIS) from the US Army Corps of Engineers for its controversial Pebble copper/gold project, in Alaska.

Assuming Northern Dynasty can obtain an EIS within four years, and file permit applications within 30 months of the date of the settlement agreement, the EPA "will not file a ‘recommended determination’ under" Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to interdict the project.

The agreement means that Northern Dynasty's development project, billed as the largest undeveloped copper and gold deposit in the world, is back on track. While Northern Dynasty cannot guarantee success nor profit, the agreement allows the company to finally start the process of applying for permits and approvals.

In return, Northern Dynasty’s Alaska-based subsidiary the Pebble Partnership has agreed to terminate permanently and with prejudice two lawsuits it brought against the EPA: An action under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and an action under the Freedom of Information Act.

"From the outset of this unfortunate saga, we've asked for nothing more than fairness and due process under the law – the right to propose a development plan for Pebble and have it assessed against the robust environmental regulations and rigorous permitting requirements enforced in Alaska and the US," president and CEO Ron Thiessen stated.

"Today's settlement gives us precisely that, the same treatment every developer and investor in a stable, first world country should expect."

Northern Dynasty’s TSX-listed stock has been rallying since the election of US President Donald Trump, as investors speculated the new administration and EPA under administrator Scott Pruitt will be more sympathetic to development of the multibillion-dollar project, located in the heart of pristine wilderness and one of the most important North American salmon fisheries.

Thiessen said the Pebble Partnership has been advancing planning for a smaller project design at Pebble than previously considered, and one that incorporates significant environmental safeguards.

Pebble Partnership CEO Tom Collier said a return to an objective, science-based and predictable permitting process at Pebble will bode well for future resource investment in Alaska and the US.

"Resource investors do not have an expectation that we will always receive development permits or always receive them on the terms we would prefer, but we do have an expectation of fair treatment under the law, and that science, not politics, should guide permitting decisions," Collier said.

Northern Dynasty’s stock fell as much as 23% on Friday to C$2.52 apiece, as investors took profit on the announcement.