News

Duluth News Tribune
February 8, 2010

He spent his life fighting for the environment, including as national president of the Izaak Walton League and as an activist who helped push through the federal Clean Water Act. So Dave Zentner of Duluth could be expected to be first in line in opposing the PolyMet project, which is poised to mine copper, nickel and other precious metals on the Iron Range. But Zentner isn't in line. In fact, rather than opposing PolyMet, he's advocating for safeguards and for financial assurances now, before mining begins, to prevent problems and to take care of messes once mining ends.

He spent his life fighting for the environment, including as national president of the Izaak Walton League and as an activist who helped push through the federal Clean Water Act. So Dave Zentner of Duluth could be expected to be first in line in opposing the PolyMet project, which is poised to mine copper, nickel and other precious metals on the Iron Range.

But Zentner isn't in line. In fact, rather than opposing PolyMet, he's advocating for safeguards and for financial assurances now, before mining begins, to prevent problems and to take care of messes once mining ends.

"The Izaak Walton League wants the project done right," Zentner said during a meeting last month with the News Tribune editorial board.

So do we.

And so does the state of Minnesota, apparently, which requires bankruptcy-proof financial assurances, up front, from all mining companies to cover the possibility of an environmental clean-up later.

No financial assurance, no mining permit, according to state rules adopted in the early 1990s. The rules followed years of study that included input from environmental groups.

The state further requires an annual review of potential environmental cleanup costs and can adjust mining companies' financial obligations accordingly. Any company that doesn't comply with financial and other requirements of its permit can have its permit denied or revoked. The state could even level civil penalties.

How much a mining company is required to set aside at the outset is determined during the permitting process, which hasn't yet begun for PolyMet. The amount is determined by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and, again, can be readjusted annually.

"Minnesota has some of the strictest environmental standards in the country," the pro-nonferrous mining group MiningMinnesota said in a statement provided the News Tribune Opinion page. "The state's regulatory agencies work every day to protect our state's natural environment through comprehensive research, permitting and monitoring processes."

Zentner suspects $1 billion, and perhaps even $2 billion, will be needed from PolyMet to mitigate potential environmental and other problems once its operations cease. Although he wants the project done right, he remains skeptical it can be. He worries, too, that PolyMet will sell its mining operations once permits are acquired and that, somehow, the new owners will be able to skirt the state's rules.

"Large corporations are continuously and successfully able to have more power than state government and to shed their responsibility," Zentner said. "We're surrounded by examples of where the system has not worked."

Few can deny the upside of a successful PolyMet project. The precious metals it'll produce are needed for many everyday items, including electronics and jewelry. Those precious metals often come from foreign countries devoid of environmental protections. The result is a horrific environmental record for nonferrous mining. Thousands of badly needed, good-paying construction jobs and permanent positions are at stake as other companies plan to follow PolyMet in mining the third-largest nickel deposit in the world. And PolyMet would bring back to life the former LTV taconite plant near Hoyt Lakes.

Will PolyMet be done right? State rules, including financial assurances, are in place to make sure. And skeptics like Dave Zentner are certain to watchdog the project to make doubly sure.