On Thursday, December 20, The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) issued the final air and water permits for PolyMet’s proposed NorthMet project in northeastern Minnesota.
The announcement was an early Christmas present for some. For others, it was like finding their Christmas stocking had been filled with lumps of coal.
Earlier in the month, on Dec. 4, a coalition of conservation and clean water groups appealed the DNR state permits issued for the PolyMet open-pit sulfide mine proposal in northern Minnesota, saying the permits will give PolyMet a “blank check to pollute.”
The groups are challenging permits that would allow PolyMet to operate the 528-acre copper-nickel mine and use appropriately six billion gallons of water per year.
Additionally the groups made a separate filing asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to overturn Minnesota’s non-ferrous mining rules, saying they are too vague to be adequately enforced by courts and regulatory agencies.
“The Trump Administration’s unlawful renewal of toxic mining leases next to the Boundary Waters goes against good science, obvious facts, and basic common sense,” said Becky Rom, national chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. “It also goes against the will of Minnesotans, 70 percent of whom oppose this dangerous mining near the Wilderness.”
Meanwhile political support for the mining project has come from both Republican and Democratic parties.
Minnesota outgoing governor Mark Dayton (DFL) said in October of 2017 that he had moved from his position of being “genuinely undecided” about the proposal to establish a copper-nickel mine to supporting PolyMet’s decision to mine the area near the BWCAW watershed.
State Senator Tom Bakk (DFL) wrote a strong opinion piece published in regional newspapers last March voicing his support, as well as campaigned on the issue. Rob Ecklund, a Democratic member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from International Falls representing District 3A, states on his Facebook page, “I strongly support non-ferrous mining as long as all environmental standards are satisfied, because it will create the next generation of mining jobs in northern Minnesota.”
And Eighth District’s newest Congressman, Republican Pete Stauber has also been a staunch supporter of PolyMet, posting on Nov. 8 on Facebook: “My first trip to PolyMet was 7 years ago and I have been a supporter since Day 1. Stop #28 was at PolyMet. I am so excited to see the jobs and economic activity that will be brought to our region.”
Creation of the mine by PolyMet promises 360 permanent jobs in the Hoy Lake-Babbitt area, as well as many spinoff jobs. Detractors say that the mining could lead to a environmental disaster that could destroy not only the environment, but take away thousands of tourist related jobs if sulfide leaks into the watershed and kills plants, fish and other wildlife.
Following the decision to release the permits, MPCA Commissioner John Linc Stine declared, “Issuing these permits comes after a years-long process that saw the most thorough environmental review any construction project has ever had in Minnesota. We are confident the requirements in these permits will protect the environment and human health over the long-term.”
That last statement by Stine is debatable, at least in the eyes of committed environmentalists husband and wife Dave and Amy Freeman.
In 2014 the Freemans, who were awarded the 2014 “National Geographic Adventurers of the Year” spent three months on a “Paddle to D.C.” trip from Ely to Washington, D.C. carrying a petition (their canoe was also a signed petition) to legislators at our nation’s capital asking them to oppose openpit, sulfide-rich ore mining in northern Minnesota.
The following year the Freemans lived and camped in the BWCAW for one year. Before they left, Amy said, “This trip is about bearing witness to the very land and water we are fighting to protect.”
Since that time the Freemans have remained part of the “Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters” which is made up of a contingency of environmental groups and concerned individuals who are attempting to permanently stave off sulfide-ore mining along the periphery of the park.
Frank Moe, a dog musher and former DFL Minnesota House of Representative member (2004-2008) from Bemidji who moved to Cook County and was a Cook County commissioner for two years carried a sack full of petitions and letters via dogsled from Grand Portage (The Grand Portage band also opposes the mining) to St. Paul in 2014, with a message to Governor Dayton that simply said, “Together we can stop this.”
Lead up to the decision
PolyMet has been working for more than 10 years to develop the copper/ nickel mine with time spent in securing permits and raising cash from private investors.
In 2011 PolyMet announced plans to build the project in two phases.
The first phase would be to market two metal concentrates, one for copper and gold, with the second for nickel, platinum, PGMs and cobalt.
The second phase would be used to build a hydrometallurgical plant, funded from the sales of the metal produced in the first phases of the operation.
With more than 130 years of mining history on the Iron Range, PolyMet will be the first company to mine for copper, nickel, cobalt and precious metals including palladium, platinum, gold and silver.
Cost for the first phase is estimated at $945 million with phase two costing an additional $259 million.
Plans are to mine 32,000 tons of ore per day for the 20-year permitted life of the mine.
Big step
On January 9, 2017, the U.S. Forest Service approved a deal to trade land with PolyMet Mining Corp., a big step in PolyMet moving forward with its plans to develop an open-pit copper-nickel mine on a 30 square mile patch of land that includes the old Erie Mining Plant processing facility, rail line, and tailings basin in the Hoyt Lakes area.
Land swap now official
On June 28, 2018, the Forest Service signed the Final Record of Decision (ROD) authorizing the exchange with PolyMet Mining, Inc., which calls for the Forest Service to convey 6,650 acres of federal land in exchange for acquisition of 6,690 acres of non-federal lands. This decision will transfer the surface property owned by the Forest Service to PolyMet, who controls the sub-surface (mineral rights), thereby enabling the development of the proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine pending other federal and state required approvals.
That land swap gives PolyMet about 30 square miles of land, with total surface rights, including occupancy and ownership rights, or approximately 19,000 contiguous acres of property, including the mine, processing sites, and the transportation corridor that will connect the sites and the existing tailings basin and buffer.
MPCA permit
The MPCA developed draft permits and released them for public comment on Jan. 31, 2018. During the time the draft permits were open for public comments (through Mar. 16, 2018), the MPCA received more than 700 comments.
After carefully evaluating the comments and revising the permits based on those comments, the revised draft permits were sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has federal oversight on the air and water permits. The EPA had no comments during the period allotted, and MPCA Commissioner John Linc Stine signed the final permits effective Dec. 20, 2018.
The permits MPCA issued include the combined federal/state permits for water discharge and air emissions. The water permit is the key mechanism for protecting water quality. The agency also issued the Clean Water Act Section 401 certification, which focuses on wetland protections.
Stine said the permits contain numerous safeguards to assure they will fulfill their purpose. For example, the water permit requires the construction of advanced water treatment technology to meet permit limits, the installation of a seepage capture system around the perimeter of the existing tailings basin, and a robust monitoring system and annual performance evaluations.
The air permit includes specific emission limits—addressing both ore processing and transport from the mine site to the processing plant—and rigorous daily, weekly, and monthly monitoring and record-keeping requirements.
The permits can be found on the agency’s PolyMet’s NorthMet mining project webpage.
Loading Comments