Another roadblock has been thrown up for what used to be known as the PolyMet project.
At the Duluth News Tribune, Jimmy Lovrien reports in Judge recommends DNR deny NorthMet permit to mine:
ST. PAUL — An administrative law judge recommended Minnesota regulators deny a permit to mine for the project vying to become the state's first copper-nickel mine because its planned method of storing a slurry of waste rock "is not a practical and workable reclamation technique," the judge wrote.
NewRange Copper Nickel's permit to mine required the company to line and cap the project’s tailings basin — a dam that would store waste rock left behind after processing out copper, nickel, cobalt and other metals — with bentonite, which swells when wet, to prevent oxygen from contacting the tailings and creating acid, the type of pollution environmentalists fear most with copper-nickel mining. Bentonite would also be mixed in with the tailings.
But in the 40-page non-binding opinion issued Tuesday, Judge James E. LaFave said the method did not meet the state law because it would not make the slurry of crushed-up waste rock nonreactive and wouldn't prevent water from flowing over or through the waste upon closure.
NewRange is a joint venture formed earlier this year between PolyMet and Teck to advance the NorthMet project. . . .
Read the rest of the article at the DulutHere's the OAH judge's opinion:
Administrative Law Judge op... uploaded by Duluth News Tribune
Reporting for Minnesota Public Radio, Dan Kraker wrote in Judge recommends against key permit for NewRange copper mine, formerly known as PolyMet:
A state administrative law judge has dealt another blow to the proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine by recommending that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources deny the key “Permit to Mine” the facility needs to operate.
In a 40-page ruling issued late Tuesday, Judge James E. LaFave found that the mine’s proposed method of storing reactive mine waste, by lining the mine’s tailings waste facility with a type of clay known as bentonite, “is not a practical and workable reclamation technique.”
It’s another in a string of setbacks for the proposed mining project in northeastern Minnesota formerly known as PolyMet, which was renamed NewRange Copper Nickel earlier this year after the company formed a 50-50 joint venture with the Canadian mining company Teck. PolyMet is now wholly owned by the Swiss mining and commodities giant Glencore.
The ruling from the administrative law judge, which followed a week-long contested case hearing held before the judge in March, is only a recommendation. The Minnesota DNR could still choose to issue the permit to mine, which was put on hold about two years ago by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
But two other major permits NewRange needs to open the mine also have been blocked by litigation. In August, the Minnesota Supreme Court sent a key water quality permit back to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for additional work.
And earlier this year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers revoked a key federal wetlands permit over concerns the project would result in pollution downstream on the reservation of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
“I think this is one of 1,000 cuts,” said Paula Maccabee, attorney and advocacy director for the nonprofit WaterLegacy, one of several environmental groups that along with the Fond du Lac Band challenged the permit to mine.
“It seems that every time anybody makes an independent evaluation of the PolyMet project, it comes up short. And so I think it’s time that the governor and Minnesota agencies should really step back and take a hard look at whether it's time to pull the plug on this project.” . . .
Jeepers.
At the Associated Press, Steve Karnowski reports in Proposed NewRange copper-nickel mine in Minnesota suffers fresh setback on top of years of delays:
. . .Other environmental groups also welcomed the ruling. They say the risks of acid mine drainage from the sulfide-bearing ore under northeastern Minnesota pose unacceptable risks to the environment and human health.
The issue in this case was whether the bentonite clay liner that NewRange plans to use to seal its waste basin would adequately contain the reactive mine waste, known as tailings, and keep oxygen and water out. The judge concluded that it was not a “practical and workable” way to render the tailings nonreactive or to keep water out of them over time.
“The crux of the issue is simple: Will the method to contain the waste work? The evidence is clear, and the judge’s ruling is clear: No,” said Chris Knopf, executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness.
Several other major obstacles to the project also remain unresolved. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in August that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency improperly granted the main water quality permit, saying state regulators not only ignored concerns from the federal Environmental Protection Agency but attempted to conceal EPA warnings from the public. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in June revoked a wetlands destruction permit, saying it did not comply with water quality standards set by a sovereign downstream tribe. Also in June, the state Supreme Court reinstated an appeal by environmentalists of the project’s air quality permit.
“This is yet another repudiation of the permits issued to PolyMet, and should be the final nail in the coffin of this failed proposal,” said Kathryn Hoffman, CEO of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
In Chloe Johnson's article at the Star Tribune, PolyMet mine faces new obstacle after judge recommends rejecting its permit, readers also learn:
The ruling comes after a five-day hearing this spring, in which a coalition of environmental groups, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the DNR and representatives for PolyMet all presented their sides in the case.
The issues covered were narrow: could the use of bentonite clay on the former LTV Steel tailings basin stop water from filtering through waste rock? If not, acid mine drainage could escape into the Lake Superior watershed. . . .
In a statement, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Chairman Kevin R. Dupuis Sr. wrote that the decision served to safeguard the natural resources that Native people rely on, and that treaty rights protect. Fond du Lac's reservation is downstream of PolyMet's planned mine.
"Today's decision by the ALJ would protect these resources for the Band and all Minnesotans," Dupuis wrote. "DNR must accept the ALJ's decision."
Read the full text of the articles at their place of publication.
Some reactions on social media:
BREAKING: Admin Law Judge recommends @mndnr deny PolyMet permit to mine that violates MN rules on reactive mine waste.
— @MCEA1974 (@MCEA1974) November 28, 2023
"This is yet another repudiation of the permits issued to PolyMet, and should be the final nail in the coffin of this failed proposal."
Read our release: pic.twitter.com/55mbmBA7E0
BREAKING: Yesterday, after five years of legal action following DNR’s flawed and short-sighted decision to issue PolyMet a Permit to Mine, an Administrative Law Judge recommended Minnesota DNR deny PolyMet’s Permit to Mine. This is a monumental decision! #mnleg 🧵1/5 pic.twitter.com/08x5IUDEGW
— Friends of the BWCAW (@FriendsBWCAW) November 29, 2023
BREAKING NEWS: Administrative Judge recommends DENIAL of PolyMet Permit to Mine!
— WaterLegacy (@WaterLegacy) November 29, 2023
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) James LaFave concluded that PolyMet’s proposed bentonite amendment to control seepage from tailings did not comply with Minnesota statutes and rules because...(1/4) pic.twitter.com/h9IflYG7pT
What more could Bluestem add?
Photo: The closed LTC Taconite plant near Hoyt Lake. AP Photo/Jim Monie.
Related posts and prior media coverage
- MNDNR will let Twin Metals subsidiary drill boreholes around Birch Lake in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness watershed
- End risk of damage to Boundary Waters watershed: permanently ban sulfide-ore mining
- ‘Secrecy is unacceptable.’ Minnesota Supreme Court reverses NewRange mining permit after regulators shield federal criticisms
- MPCA was ‘arbitrary and capricious’ in granting PolyMet permit, Supreme Court rules, Minnesota Reformer
- Minnesota Supreme Court rules against disputed mine, says state pollution officials hid EPA warnings, Star Tribune
- Court says MPCA did not take 'hard look' at NorthMet permit, Duluth News Tribune
- MN Reformer: Public lands near MN BWCA Waters withdrawn from federal mining leases
- MN Reformer Commentary: Clean water is a winning issue. Why are politicians so against it?
- Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's father had Norwegian-American roots in New London, MN
- MN Reformer: Biden administration cancels mining leases near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters
- Appeals Court says Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness can challenge mine siting rules
- Water is life: Iron Range board legislators table new water system for Fond du Lac band
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