Environmental groups vow to continue fighting against the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeast Minnesota after the D-N-R issued permits for the project Thursday. “Permanent, toxic pollution in the headwaters of Lake Superior, putting our communities and lives at risk,” says John Doberstein with “Duluth for Clean Water.” D-N-R Commissioner Tom Landwehr acknowledges there will be environmental impact from PolyMet but says, “In our permit we have ensured that those impacts do fall within state standards and that any impacts that need to be mitigated are mitigated.” Doberstein responds state standards are not strong enough.
The group Jobs for Minnesotans is applauding the D-N-R’s decision on PolyMet, saying it will create hundreds of good-paying jobs and pump over 500 million dollars a year into the region’s economy. Doberstein agrees the Iron Range needs jobs, but says, “Let’s figure out how we can create an economy that… provides good-paying, family-supporting wages for years and years to come, not just with the boom-and-bust rollercoaster of copper-nickel mining.” But Aurora Mayor Dave Lislegard says the D-N-R’s action “signals new life for mining on the Iron Range.”
Minnesota D-N-R officials say taxpayers will *not* be on the hook for cleanup if there were problems with the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in Hoyt Lakes. Commissioner Tom Landwehr says “financial assurance” provides immediate cash to the state if the company doesn’t comply with environmental regulations or walks away from the project. “At the peak of mining, we will have more than a billion dollars in financial assurance that the state can access, again, at any time without any court proceeding, to close, clean up and do the long-term monitoring on that project,” Landwehr says. Environmental groups warns PolyMet has plans for a much larger mining operation than the D-N-R issued permits for. Landwehr responds any expanded project would undergo similar environmental review.
More in these audio clips:
Commissioner Tom Landwehr says “no project in the history of Minnesota has been more thoroughly evaluated”:
John Doberstein with the group “Duluth for Clean Water” warns the PolyMet project will create permanent, toxic pollution in the headwaters of Lake Superior, putting communities and people’s lives in constant danger:
Environmentalists also warn PolyMet’s intent is to have a much larger mining operation than the one the D-N-R issued permits for — essentially a bait-and-switch by the company. Doberstein says:
D-N-R Commissioner Landwehr responds to that:
Landwehr says there are also “financial assurances” by the PolyMet developers:
Backers say the PolyMet project will bring much-needed, high-paying jobs to northeastern Minnesota. Doberstein with “Duluth for Clean Water” says about that: