News

Politics in Minnesota
January 14, 2010

The chairman of a key House environmental committee says he hasn't decided if he will hold a hearing in the 2010 legislative session on a bill that would require new financial assurances from companies that mine copper and other nonferrous minerals in Minnesota.

The House Environment and Oversight Committee didn't hear a bill last year that pitted environmentalists against Iron Range legislators. The committee's chairman Rep. Kent Eken, DFL-Twin Valley, told PIM earlier this week he's not certain yet if a new version of the bill will get heard this session either.

"The verdict is still out on whether we'll have a hearing on it. It depends on the language," Eken said.

He said he believes there's a need for better financial assurances from mining companies. But he doesn't want to take up legislation in which environmental and economic concerns can't be reconciled.

In 2009, legislation was introduced that placed environmental and financial regulations on copper mining companies. Currently a copper mine planned for Hoyt Lakes is going through the state regulatory process.

Last session's bill, sponsored by Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, and Sen. Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, drew fierce opposition from Iron Range legislators who argued the bill would undo potential mining projects.

The bill died in Eken's committee.

This year, the bill is a priority for environmental groups. The Minnesota Environmental Partnership included the bill among its top four legislative priorities for 2010.