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. We are currently awaiting the decision of the Minnesota DNR on whether or not to permit the mine.
What is PolyMet & Why Should You Care
The Canadian PolyMet Mining Corporation wants to dig the first ever copper-sulfide mine in Minnesota on protected Superior National Forest lands, threatening the Lake Superior watershed and communities along the St. Louis River. This type of mining is highly dangerous and has been called “America’s most toxic industry” by the EPA. (1) Here are important things to know about what’s at stake and how to get involved:
What are the dangers of the PolyMet mine?
- ACID MINE DRAINAGE: Sulfide mining is extremely dangerous – producing sulfuric acid in a self-perpetuating reaction that releases toxic heavy metals, devastating local ecosystems and polluting freshwater. Minnesota’s environmental review states that the mine’s toxic wastewater would have to be treated for 500 years, requiring billions of dollars in long-term remediation.(2)
- BOOM-AND-BUST ECONOMY: After 20 years of operation, PolyMet would leave a contaminated landscape that can’t be put to productive use, while water pollution would continue for 500 years or more. Mining companies often declare bankruptcy after taking the profits, leaving taxpayers to cover health and environmental costs from irreversible pollution.(3)
- THREAT TO LAKE SUPERIOR: The proposed site drains into the St. Louis River, the largest tributary to Lake Superior, which flows through Cloquet, Duluth and the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation. A wastewater dam failure would be devastating for downstream communities.
What stage is the PolyMet mine at in the permitting process?
What would the PolyMet mine mean for Northern Minnesota?
PolyMet is the first of many sulfide mine proposals in Minnesota by multinational corporations, including Rio Tinto, Teck Resources and Twin Metals. If permitted, PolyMet would open the door to a destructive sulfide mining district in the Superior National Forest, polluting water for at least 500 years. Sulfide mining does not belong in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
www.startribune.com/iron-range-mine-could-pollute-water-for-up-to-500-years/226548091/
What is the Sierra Club Doing?
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.
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.
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 against 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.