by Susan Flygare
Back in my career days, working 50-60 hours a week and trying to be a good wife and mother, I was bemoaning to one of my sisters that there seemed to be no time for activism on any of the issues that were so critically important at the time. Having both come of age in the '60's, and fighting for the environment and against the war, it was tough to feel like we were on the sidelines. “Don’t feel bad,” she quipped, "there is only so much time in a day right now, but we are going to get back to the '60's in our 60's! Think of all the time we will have when we retire!"
Well, I am in my 60's. I have travelled to the other side of grief after losing my husband 11 years ago, I have retired and I am blessed with good health, happy children and wonderful grandchildren. It doesn’t always feel that there is much more time in the day, as it seems to be passing at an ever accelerating rate, but it is definitely time to get involved once again and to try to make a difference.
I had heard of the Polymet mine off and on but had never looked deep enough to sense how critical the decision of whether to permit mining in in a watershed could be to our collective well being. My daughter had started to be active in the protection of the St. Croix watershed and the Kinnickinnic River in Wisconsin and alerted me to an informational meeting at a community library a few weeks ago. I went, and what I learned left me both appalled and energized. The next day, I received an email from MoveOn.org asking if there were any issues about which I would care to start a petition. YES! STOPPING COPPER SULFIDE MINING IN MINNESOTA! So I did. And over 2,500 people have signed!
After hearing about the placement of the mine right next to the Laurentian divide, after hearing about the rate of failure of these mines (100%), after hearing about what a break in the toxic slurry holding ponds would do to the wetlands and headwaters of the Partridge and St. Louis Rivers which empty into Lake Superior, after hearing that this issue has been politicized to pit jobs against the environment, and after hearing that it was supported by Governor Dayton, it was time to become an activist once again.
It was a revelation to me to find that the pollution created by this type of mining is not the same as that created by taconite mining. It is much worse. Even Polymet's own permit to mine application states that water treatment would have to continue for at least 500 years after the mine closes to keep the wetlands safe, although it does not, and cannot guarantee it will do so. And, the EPA calls sulfide mining the most toxic industry in America!
Unfortunately, it is a fallacy to think that Minnesota has the best environmental statutes on record. Engineers who reviewed the permit were appalled and said the other jurisdictions would never allow this type of mine. And DNR representatives have stated to me that their hands are tied, that they must follow statute in assessing the permit, effectively absolving themselves from responsibility of the inevitable toxic spill.
I was chagrined to come so late to this issue. The permitting process has been going on for over ten years. In all that time, while we have found hundreds of millions of dollars to build sports stadiums, why have we not been able to fund a start up industry in Northern Minnesota to assure good jobs and benefits? The United States does not even have a copper shortage and huge companies like Apple are committing to using only recycled copper in the future. Why not build a state of the art recycling center to make the most of the minerals and metals we have already extracted from our planet and mine the copper that way?
Water is a finite resource and we are blessed to have so much clean water right here in Minnesota. We have a responsibility that transcends partisanship, borders, and short term profit seeking to keep this gift safe for our grandchildren, and for generations to come. Clean water and a sound environment is the best legacy we can leave.
Susan Flygare is a member of MoveOn.org and the Sierra Club North Star Chapter. On March 6, she and MoveOn.org Civic Action joined a coalition of organizations delivered more than 10,000 petition comments to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources asking them to protect Minnesota's water and reject PolyMet's draft Permit to Mine.
PolyMet Mine Update
In January - March 2018, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources held its final major public comment period on the proposed PolyMet mine. This would be Minnesota's first sulfide mine, a type of mining that the EPA has called "America's most toxic industry", located in the Lake Superior headwaters between Babbit and Hoyt Lakes. Sierra Club partnered with a coalition of organizations and Minnesota residents to mobilize comments to the DNR, hold education events, and organize resistance to the proposal.
Sierra Club North Star Chapter’s actions on PolyMet Mine
January 30: PolyMet Mine Update at Southdale Library
Sierra Club partnered with Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness to hold an education event featuring Jane Reyer, legal expert and Advocacy Director at Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. More than 90 people packed the room to hear her presentation, with standing room only. See a video of the presentation here.
February 7 & 8: PolyMet mine Public Hearings in Duluth and Aurora, MN
More than 1000 people attended the PolyMet hearing in Duluth, with speakers opposing the mine by a 2 to 1 margin. Our coalition organized a pre-hearing rally featuring local speakers, and Sierra Club led an Overpass Light Brigade action with light-up letters outside the building. Media coverage reflected majority opposition.
February 26: PolyMet Mine Update at Macalester, featuring Aaron Klemz
Sierra Club partnered with Macalester’s student group MacCARES and Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) to organize an education event about the proposed PolyMet mine, featuring a presentation by Aaron Klemz of MCEA, with 130 people in attendance. See a video of the presentation here.
March 3: Permit to Draw, A Public Art Build Event
We supported local organizer Ryan Seibold in holding a public event where participants created eight art illustrations objecting to the PolyMet mine for a publicly distributed “zine” book. Ryan and his kids delivered the collection of drawings to the DNR as a set of comments agains PolyMet.
March 6: PolyMet Petition Delivery Rally
Sierra Club partnered with coalition organizations to hold a press conference/rally at the Minnesota State Capitol, highlighting the delivery of 10,000 petition signatures and comments by the coalition to the DNR opposing the PolyMet mine. Sierra Club’s signatures totaled 2050 online plus 700 hand-written comment cards.
March 6: Overpass Light Brigade action
Sierra Club volunteers held large light-up letters over I-94 in Saint Paul at the MacKubin street pedestrian bridge in the evening, following the petition delivery earlier that day. Photos were posted on social media that evening and on coalition partner pages.