Court hearing begins on alleged irregularities in MPCA decision on PolyMet permits

Day one (Tues) of what could be a ten-day court hearing in Saint Paul on allegations that the state Pollution Control Agency tried to suppress federal regulators’ concerns about the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in Hoyt Lakes. In March 2018, then-MPCA Commissioner John Linc Stine asked E-P-A officials not to submit their statements in writing during Minnesota’s public comment period. E-P-A officials later read their assessment to Minnesota regulators during a phone call but it was never put in the public record. The M-P-C-A’s attorneys contend the public was fully engaged and opponents’ entire case “hinges on unfounded speculation.”