News

Mesabi Daily News
March 10, 2010

ST. PAUL - After three hearings and dozens of testimonies this week, a bill that would have put more restrictions on nonferrous mining in Minnesota was withdrawn by its author after an almost five-hour hearing. 

At the third hearing on nonferrous mining at the state Capitol, every seat was filled. But as the hearing stretched into its fourth hour, both mining supporters and environmentalists hunched into their chairs, played with phones and blinked their eyes awake. 

The first two hours of the hearing reviewed the Draft Environmental Impact Statement process used by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for the PolyMet project near Hoyt Lakes. Environmentalists fear the project will pollute water with sulfuric acid while mining supporters say current standards are adequate and that project will bring 400 full-time jobs, hundreds more in spin-off jobs and 1.5 million hours of construction work.  

Steve Colvin of the DNR said the project leads realized that the Draft EIS would need to represent both federal and state standards only in fall 2009. 

Because of the environmentally unsatisfactory score awarded to the draft, Colvin said the DNR and Army Corps of Engineers will be working with the Environmental Protection Agency to meet all those standards. 

"The EPA will commit expertise and resources to help complete the final EIS." Colvin said. 

When pressed to give a timeline by Sen. Tom Saxhaug, DFL-Grand Rapids, Colvin declined. 

"We want to do things as expeditiously as we can but we also want to do things as legally defensible as we can," Colvin said. 

Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, said both the EPA and the Army Corps declined to testify at the hearing. 

Representatives from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy presented the critique of the Draft EIS. 

Steve Thorne of the MCEA said the higher level of assurance was part of a trend that originated from the closure of Reserve and LTV mines and pollution of Silver Bay. 

MCEA Executive Director Scott Strand said it had been misrepresented that the Draft EIS was only a preliminary statement and that the DNR didn't need to meet federal standards. "Any major mining project in Minnesota is going to be handled by a joint state-federal impact statement," Strand said. 

The DNR doesn't have the ability to decide whether or not to address federal concerns, Strand said. 

Those comments raised the ire of Sen. Kenneth Kelash, DFL-Minneapolis. 

"This is an attack on the quality of people working for the DNR," Kelash said. "You're assuming that they're doing something wrong rather than that they're doing their jobs." 

Kelash continued with a raised voice until both the chair and another senator reminded him of Senate rules to "treat all those before us with respect and dignity." 

It wasn't until almost 8 p.m. that the actual bill finally made an appearance.

Authored in the Senate by Sen. Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, it would increase the financial deposits required of non-ferrous mining companies before a project could permit it. 

Carlson said he wouldn't have sponsored the bill if he believed it would delay or prevent mining projects the state depends on for jobs.

Testimony came from representatives of business, mining, and building trades, all of whom opposed the bill. 

The Minnesota Environmental Partnership testified in support of the bill Wednesday - most environmental advocates testified Monday night.  

Three local officials from the Iron Range also testified. 

Hibbing Mayor Rick Wolff said his city has been losing population because of the scarcity of jobs. 

"This is not a thing about the environment versus jobs," Wolf said. "But I do think jobs are part of the equation and do have to be factored into the decisions that are made." 

Marlene Pospeck, mayor of Hoyt Lakes, said the legislation was not necessary. 

"This is yet another delay tactic proposed by environmentalists hell-bent on stopping mining altogether," Pospeck said. "Hundreds of living wage jobs hang in the balance." 

Carlson said that regardless of the fate of the bill, the jobs aren't going to start right away. He said the EIS still needed a lot of work before it was approved by the federal agencies.

"This is not something that's going to be a snap of the fingers."