November 20, 2012, Vancouver, BC — Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (“Northern Dynasty” or the “Company”) (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) announces that the Pebble Limited Partnership (the “Pebble Partnership” or “PLP”) has appointed Dan Easton as Vice President of Environment to lead the Pebble Project’s environmental program, including permitting and environmental studies.
Dan Easton is a civil engineer with 30 years of experience working on environmental compliance and regulatory oversight in Alaska. His background includes 13 years at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permitting agency, where he supervised four major operating divisions implementing waste water discharge and air quality permitting, as well as all state environmental programs, including spill prevention and response, drinking water, solid waste management and environmental health. Mr. Easton also founded Easton Environmental, a successful consulting environmental engineering company where he worked on projects including remediation of Prince William Sound shorelines after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. For several years, he owned and operated a commercial fishing vessel and participated in Southern Alaska’s longline groundfish fishery.
Most recently, Mr. Easton served as Environmental and Regulatory Affairs Manager on the early design phase of a major multi-billion dollar Liquefied Natural Gas project in Western Australia.
President and CEO Ron Thiessen commented, “Dan’s extensive involvement in state-wide permitting programs and understanding of Alaskan environments make him the natural choice for Vice President of Environment. As the Pebble Partnership continues to methodically advance a development plan that will protect fisheries and water quality, Dan’s leadership and expertise will help ensure that mitigation strategies for the Pebble Project are scientifically sound and sufficient before going through the rigorous environmental permitting and regulatory requirements of state and federal agencies.” …