Iron Range leaders want convenient public hearing on Twin Metals project

Iron Range leaders say the U-S Forest Service should hold a public listening session in a more convenient place than Duluth, as they consider the proposed Twin Metals project near Ely.  The listening session is July 13th, and it comes after the Forest Service said earlier this month it is “deeply concerned” about the leases being in the same watershed as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and by the “inherent risks associated with potential copper, nickel and other sulfide mining operations.” Governor Mark Dayton says he agrees. But 8th District Congressman Rick Nolan says it appears from the earlier announcement that the Forest Service has “all but decided to disapprove the leases” even before the 30-day waiting period for public input began. Nolan adds “now is not the time to pre-emptively block new mining opportunities on the Range, or the environmental review process itself.”