“That’s part of the back and forth we had with the EPA is to make sure that there was tough enforceable language in the permit to make sure that the company is doing what it says it’s going to do. The most recent blow to the project came on Monday, when the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed two dam safety permits and the project’s critical permit to mine… The MPCA has denied the allegations in a series of sworn statements from current and former staff. In filings to the Court of Appeals, the state agency says WaterLegacy is attacking “one aspect” of a lengthy collaborative process between the MPCA and the EPA.The MPCA says virtually all of the EPA concerns were raised by others during the public-comment period for the permits, and that it has responded to all those concerns.Richard Clark, supervisor of the MPCA’s metallic mining sector unit, said in a court declaration that the EPA had raised identical questions “throughout the permit-development process.” Those worries were recorded in other notes and submitted as part of the administrative record of the approval process, Clark said.In other words, state regulators contend the April phone call with the EPA had no new information. Credit: PolyMet Mining The proposal by the Polymet Mining Company to establish a copper sulfide mine in Northern Minnesota has generated a major statewide controversy.
Walker Orenstein reports on the state Legislature for MinnPost, with a particular focus on covering issues affecting Greater Minnesota.
In the last year, the company PolyMet has made large strides toward building Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine by securing the state and federal permits needed to … Shares of US Gold surged 12.8% on Wednesday following the latest acquisition.
The MPCA and Department of Natural Resources said they wouldn’t take final action on pending permits for the Enbridge pipeline until the Public Utilities Commission addressed the court’s concern with the Environmental Impact Statement.Klemz noted EPA comments have forced revisions from state regulators in the past and should be widely known. “This will include an openness for oral written comments from any person or organization during our permitting and rule-making processes as well as other times that stakeholders wish to engage with our agency,” Bishop said. While the permit requires PolyMet to treat water and has a form of water quality limits, the EPA wrote those regulations weren’t enforceable by the federal government, the public and potentially by the MPCA.On top of that, opponents of PolyMet argue that MPCA staff worked to ensure EPA comments were hidden from the public and court records. PolyMet contends that new technology, water treatment and tough regulations can prevent environmental disasters that have occurred at copper mines around the globe.Here’s what you need to know about the allegations against the MPCA and what they could mean for the project going forward:Last week, the EPA released a set of written comments that outlined major concerns with a draft of the MPCA permit, known as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES), that was issued to PolyMet in December 2018.In part, federal regulators worried it would allow pollution, violate the Clean Water Act and hinder lawsuits against the mining company if problems do happen. Maccabee and Aaron Klemz, a spokesman for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, said the Trump administration’s business-friendly approach might be to blame. As for the missing notes, Clark said the EPA “read their comments very quickly, and the concerns were all ones that we had heard before.” One staffer stopped taking notes throughout the call and said they weren’t helpful. The company secured all the major state and federal permits it …
Maccabee said she later learned through the EPA and sources about the official written comments.Then, earlier this week, the union representing EPA employees in Minnesota released an email they say was obtained through an “anonymous leak.” The union contends the email shows former MPCA Assistant Commissioner Shannon Lotthammer pressuring EPA staff to suppress concerns by submitting them outside a public comment process. (Click to enlarge.
)As PolyMet marches toward construction, new questions have emerged about a critical state water permit issued by the MPCA. Lotthammer is now at the DNR.MPCA staff said the EPA decides itself whether to submit written comments at any point in the permitting process.The MPCA has not promised to reevaluate its PolyMet permit in any way.
Maccabee said the recent PolyMet revelations undermine the credibility of the MPCA and its permit, which could affect the court case. Box 18438 | Minneapolis, MN 55418 | The Iron Range sits atop the Duluth Complex, one of the largest undeveloped mineral deposits in the world. Proponents maintain that it will bring much needed jobs to their communities.
If permitted, the proposed $1 billion mine would become the first-ever copper-nickel operation in the state, with an estimated 290 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading 0.29% copper and 0.08% nickel.The air permit, issued in December 2018, would allow the company to release 250 tonnes of regulated pollutants per year, but opponents of the mine argue that the company will exceed that limit if it were to recover more ore.According to PolyMet officials, the mining company is asking the Supreme Court to clarify when a court of appeals can require an agency to make additional findings, and whether it can presume without evidence that an agency will not enforce its permits.In March, Glencore issued up to $30 million in unsecured convertible debentures to help fund PolyMet’s legal battles“The Court of Appeals’ decision creates regulatory uncertainty that could have far-reaching, negative implications for businesses seeking permits in the state,” president and CEO Jon Cherry said in a press release.He added that the company remains “determined and confident” that it will advance the copper-nickel mine, which he believes will create more than 1,000 direct and spinoff jobs and approximately two million hours of construction labor in the northeastern Minnesota region.“It’s one way Minnesota can meaningfully contribute to climate change solutions by furnishing the copper, nickel, cobalt and other metals that are so critical to the manufacture of renewable energy technologies such as solar arrays, wind turbines and electric vehicles,” he said.This is the second petition PolyMet has made to the Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeals decision.
And unlike the Twin Metals project, it would be a massive open-pit copper-nickel mine in the watershed that drains into Lake Superior. “Minnesotans tend to believe that we can trust our regulators, that they’re operating openly and fairly — and if they say a permit is good, we should trust them,” she said. Although not as well known as Twin Metals, the $1 billion proposed PolyMet mine has also faced years of controversy. Another said notes he took were discarded after he incorporated them into legal work exempt from disclosure.Darin Broton, an MPCA spokesman, said his agency adjusted the permit in many cases but said there were other instances in which they disagreed with EPA concerns.In the end, the EPA did not object or veto the final permit, Broton said. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources released a draft permit to mine Friday morning for PolyMet Mining, a major step forward for what's poised to …
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