PolyMet, one of several companies jumping through the hoops required to mine non-ironbased metals such as gold, copper, nickel and platinum from the Iron Range, will not be using Taconite Harbor at the west end of Cook County as a rail-to-ship transfer site as hoped.
A January 14, 2010 email to Cook County Board of Commissioners Secretary Janet Simonen from environmental engineering consultant Brad Moore said, “…Negotiations are not occurring. The reason is that the product is high value and low volume – that is, the products do not lend themselves to this type of rail transportation (unlike bulk taconite pellets which require this kind of transport option).”
Moore, representing Barr Engineering, which was hired by PolyMet, gave a presentation to the county board January 12 on environmental studies related to mining non-ferrous metals. According to Moore, new technologies designed to protect the environment from longterm damage and pollution would be utilized if the company gets its permits to operate. At that meeting, the board discussed officially supporting the project.
PolyMet’s operation would employ about 400 people and create as many as 500 “spinoff” jobs related to population increases on the Iron Range if the mine were built.
Critics of the project are skeptical about whether government regulation and oversight will truly protect the environment from degradation and pollution from sulfuric acid produced when water and oxygen mix with rocks containing copper and nickel. A January 14 letter from Chel Anderson and John Alt of Grand Marais questioned whether the county board should advocate for the PolyMet project. They wrote, “…The proposal and the EIS [Environmental Impact Statement] analyzing its potential impacts are very complex, highly technical and voluminous. Because they will set the example for how other proposals’ benefits and risks will be analyzed and activities regulated, the permitting decision and the particulars under which
” permits are granted or denied for this mining proposal are very weighty ones.
“…Being fully informed when making com- ments is everyone’s responsibility. As elected representatives of the county’s citizens and interests this responsibility is particularly important. We think it is highly inappropriate for the board (or anyone) to make comments in support or opposition of this proposal unless and until it has done due diligence in informing itself on the economic, social, and environmental issues….
“…A decision to comment in support of the PolyMet proposal based exclusively or in large measure on information provided by the proposer via its paid consultant is not due diligence and is unacceptable, as would a comment in opposition based on a single source with a similar vested interest.”
On January 26, the board discussed a draft of a letter Board Chair Fritz Sobanja had written to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in support of continuing to move forward with the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process.
The letter states, “…The Cook County Board of Commissioners would like to express its appreciation for the thorough review process that has been conducted to mitigate any significant negative environmental impacts.
“…After meeting with Barr Engineering consultant Brad Moore, and considering Brad’s background with Minnesota DNR and MPCA [the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency], the Cook County Board of Commissioners understands there to be minimal impacts to the ground water or air quality in Cook County, that the EIS adequately addresses the impacts and needs of the mining and processing sites as well as the impacts to surrounding counties, and that proper technologies are in effect to mitigate environmental concerns going forward into the future.
“…Understanding the positive economic and social value this project brings to northeastern Minnesota, both short- and long-term, the Cook County Board of Commissioners urges your office to continue moving forward in order that the PolyMet project becomes a reality….” The letter supported the use of the EIS to evaluate impacts the mining operation could have on the environment.
“There’s a point where you have to make a decision,” Commissioner Sobanja said. “We have to feed people and provide jobs.”
Commissioner Bob Fenwick stated that the project is important to Cook County even if it doesn’t directly impact Cook County’s economy.
Commissioner Jim Johnson reminded the board that Brad Moore was hired by PolyMet. “The impression is that he’s presenting a slanted point of view. There’s a perception that because you’re getting paid, you have a slanted point of view.”
Commissioner Bruce Martinson said he came across some information that stated PolyMet is being held to higher standards than any other mining operation in Wisconsin or Minnesota.
Chel Anderson, who attended the January 19 county board meeting, said she doesn’t think state and federal standards are high enough.
They should be very careful, Commissioner Johnson said, when commenting on potential environmental impacts.
The board unanimously passed a motion to send the letter written by Sobanja.
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