News

Mesabi Daily News
March 4, 2010

HOYT LAKES - PolyMet Mining officials responded Thursday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Feb. 23 report that gave the company's draft environmental impact statement a low rating.

"The EPA's rating of the draft EIS as unsatisfactory appears to have been based on the ‘proposed project' without consideration of alternatives or mitigation discussed in the document," PolyMet said in a statement.

PolyMet's proposed mining project on the East Range would be the first nonferrous project processing copper, nickel and precious metals in Minnesota. A final EIS and operating permits are the last major steps before construction can proceed. 

The EPA gave PolyMet's draft EIS its lowest rating, "Environmentally Unsatisfactory - Inadequate" and said that impacts were "of sufficient magnitude that EPA believes the proposed action must not proceed as proposed."

Waste rock being acid generating, water quality standards for sulfates being exceeded, 1,000 wetland acres being filled in, as well as financial assurances for post-mine closure needing to be addressed were some of the main EPA criticisms.

PolyMet put the EPA's points within the context of its draft EIS process:

· Environmental engineering and review of the project, a lot of it done by leading environmental engineers and scientists, was aimed at strengthening environmental protection and lowering impacts.

· Many results of that work were put into alternatives proposed in the draft EIS already; a lot of the comments received from the public didn't concentrate on alternatives; "and may not have fully considered the supporting information," PolyMet said.

· Lots of scientific data was included in the draft EIS, and at times noted the need for more information, which PolyMet is working to add in for the final EIS.

The company has noted in other statements and through spokespersons that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are the state and federal lead agencies for the joint process. The EPA was not really involved in the preparation of the draft EIS and submitted its report after the Feb. 4 EIS comments deadline. The public review period for the draft EIS, which was published in early November, ran twice as long is required, while two public comment meetings were held, one more than required.

The company has spent more than $20 million in the past 4-1/2 years on the draft EIS process.

PolyMet President and CEO Joe Scipioni noted in a statement that many of the firm's employees live near the project and have been in northern Minnesota for generations; everyone takes their environmental responsibilities "very seriously," he said.